


It’s Only Rock n’ Roll

by jenunjen96816



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:48:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8821147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenunjen96816/pseuds/jenunjen96816
Summary: Hope is the hottest rock singer on the planet. Kelley is an ambitious junior manager at a music management company. Hope is in the prime of her career but has been secretly considering retirement. Kelley is looking to make a name for herself, and she gets the chance to manage Hope’s career…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally posted this story a while ago but I somehow lost all my srories so I am going to try to repost.
> 
> I came up with another idea, and I thought I would try it for O'Solo. This one is set in a world with which I am familiar - the music industry.
> 
> This story is AU possibly with some OOC. It will contain references to some actual real places, things and people, and in this story these reference may run the gamut from true-to-life to only faintly resembling real life. Also, in this story Hope and Kelley are each a few years younger than they are in real life.
> 
> I will be uploading this story by chapters. It’s a bit of a longer story, and it contains some conflict, tension, drama, adult language, and mature themes. But, there will also be some good fluffy moments.
> 
> Most importantly - I thank you in advance for reading, and I 'hope' you enjoy the story (sorry for the pun, that was terrible, I know).

The lights went down, and a roar like a freight train thundered throughout the arena. Twenty thousand people screamed at the top of their lungs. The rock star known as Hope stood behind the stage, clothed in a tight pink top, black leather pants and black heels, microphone in hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the sound of the crowd.

"Showtime, Hope", came a voice to her right. Hope opened her eyes and saw her PR agent, Carli Lloyd, dressed as always in a sharp business suit. "Go get 'em, Solo", Carli said and smiled. Hope smiled back, then motioned to her band members who were standing around her, and they took the stage. A chant of "Hope! Hope! Hope!" boomed throughout the arena.

"Los Angeles Arena! How are we feeling tonight?" Hope shouted into the microphone as she stepped onstage. The roar escalated to an ear-splitting level. "Alright - let's rock n' roll!" Drummer Ashlyn Harris crashed the hi-hat four times, and then the pyrotechnics went off, the stage lights flooded on, and the band launched into their opening song.

 

********

 

The band hit their final note, and the arena shook with applause. The hottest rock singer in the world raised her hands in the air. 

“Los Angeles Arena, thank you so much!” Hope shouted into the microphone. She flashed her brilliant smile, and the effect of a strobe light blitzed the arena as thousands of cameras snapped pictures. “We had a great time tonight, and we love you guys. See you next time!” Hope shouted, then put the microphone onto the mic stand and took a deep bow. Her band gathered in the center of the stage and bowed with her, and the roar of the crowd ascended to an ear-splitting level as Hope blew the arena a kiss with both hands.

Hope was greeted by Carli as she walked offstage. "Great job, Solo", Carli said, as she fell in stride with Hope. Lead guitarist Megan Rapinoe grabbed a bottle of Jameson from a stagehand, gave Hope a thumbs up and then headed towards her dressing room, a hot redhead in tow. Keyboardist Sydney Leroux hoisted up two bottles of champagne and then stopped to pose for photos with a group of lucky fans and friends who had managed to secure some backstage passes. Ashlyn and bassist Ali Krieger disappeared into Ashlyn's dressing room. Hope smiled and shook her head, taking in the entire scene, and then started walking through the backstage hallway towards her own dressing room. As she walked, she was mobbed by a throng of music industry personnel, hopefuls and hangers-on.

“Hope! Can I get a few minutes for an interview?”

“Hope! Just a few quick photos, please!”

“Hope, drinks at the club later?”

"Hope, did you listen to my band's new album yet?"

“Hope, can my band open for you on your upcoming tour?”

"Hope…” the questions blurred together and became one solid din. Hope evaded them politely, put on her best smile, and shook hands and gave hugs as she squeezed her way through the crowd to her dressing room. Finally, she made it. Carli followed her in and closed the door.

“It’s like a mob out there, huh?” Carli said and smiled.

“Oh my God, no kidding”, Hope said, as she plopped down on a couch.

“How do you feel?” Carli asked. 

“Exhausted. I mean, I think we played well, but I’m exhausted.”

“I bet. Well, you’ve been on the road for eight straight months. How does it feel to be done?"

"Good", Hope said. "I mean, playing all the time was a blast, but I'm glad to be back home."

"Well, you’re back home at least for now. You'll probably be back out on tour in a few weeks. I'm working on finalizing that. Anyway, how about you take a few minutes to relax, and then we'll go do some interviews, sign autographs and do a few photo opps?”

Hope sighed. She looked at the ground in silence for a moment and then said, “Alright”.

“Hey – you okay?” Carli asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Hope said, trying to sound upbeat, even though she was completely wiped out.

“Are you sure? You seem, like…unenthused, or something.”

“No, it’s not that.” Hope exhaled and said, “I'm just tired." She paused and then said, “And…it’s just…this whole rock star thing is…overwhelming sometimes.”

Carli walked over to Hope and rubbed Hope’s shoulder encouragingly with her hand. “Hey, c’mon, Solo. You know how it works. You’ve been crushin’ it for ten years now. You’ve had a career that most musicians only dream about.”

“I know”, Hope sighed. “And, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything, and you know I love playing music. It’s just that…well, you know - I didn't get into music for the fame, or even the money. You know me, Car – I’m just a simple girl from a small town. I’m not a limelight seeker.” Carli smiled at her empathetically, and Hope shrugged her shoulders and continued. “It’s like, after all this time…I still haven’t adjusted to being in the spotlight. I guess I’m just a more private person. I don’t know…it's just…sometimes, I’m still not sure if I’m cut out for this whole rock star lifestyle thing.”

“I understand”, Carli said, “but you made it this far.” Hope smiled, and Carli said, “Well, why don’t you just relax right now, and then maybe we'll just do one short interview and maybe a couple quick photos and sign autographs for a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, I can do that." Hope smiled in agreement and nodded. Carli knows how to handle me, she thought. She knows just how much to ask of me without going over the top. "Hey - how's Brian, by the way?" Hope asked.

"He's good", Carli said. "I talked with him yesterday. He's still in Europe, filming his next movie. He'll be home soon, though." Carli smiled at the thought of her husband, famed movie director Brian Hollins, returning home after being away for almost a year. Hope smiled back at her, and Carli started to open the door and then said, “Hey – a bunch of people are talking about going to Victoria Room later, the new club that Johnny Depp just opened. It's near your house. You wanna go?”

“I don’t know”, Hope said. “I haven’t seen my house in eight months. I kind of just want to go home, sit on my couch, drink an iced mocha, eat some ice cream and watch Orange Is The New Black.” Hope said. Hope’s house was just 20 minutes away from the Los Angeles Arena, a single-story modern ranch-style house in the Hollywood foothills. Carli had helped her purchase it when they had started working together, nearly ten years ago. Hope had been a twenty-one year-old struggling musician. Carli had just started working in PR at a record label. She had caught Hope’s performance at an open mic, and after hearing three songs, she knew Hope would be a star. After Hope got offstage, Carli had introduced herself. The next week, Carli had introduced Hope to the head of her record label, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Hope smiled and continued. “You know me, Car - I’m not really a partier. And I’m not really a Hollywood-type. I don't really care about the glitzy clubs." Hope’s smile took on a wistful turn, and she said, "I'm just a regular girl…looking for love.” She batted her eyelashes theatrically.  
Carli laughed. “Well, who knows? You might meet that 'special someone' at the club tonight…” Carli trailed off.

Hope rolled her eyes good-naturedly and then gave Carli the look that she used to give her mother when her mother would try to set her up on dates in high school. “Ugh. Car - we've talked about this before. You know I appreciate you always looking out for my love life, but I'm not gonna find that 'special someone' at a club at midnight. And you know I'm never just looking for a one night hookup”, Hope said. “I mean, honestly – the girl that I end up spending the rest of my life with probably won’t even have anything to do with music. I want someone more…I don't know…down to earth, or something.”

“There are down to earth people in the music industry", Carli said, earnestly.

“No there aren’t”, Hope said light-heartedly. “Well, maybe one person - you.” She smiled at Carli.

Carli smiled back. “Two – you”. The two friends shared an understanding laugh, and then Carli changed subjects and said, “Well, you’ve got tomorrow off, and then you start with the new management company the day after. That should streamline things and help to contain the chaos.” Hope’s former management company had tried to cheat her out of a bunch of money about a year ago, so she had left them, and Carli had been acting as her manager ever since.

“Ugh…another management company”, Hope groaned. She looked at Carli and half-joking, half-serious said, “I hate management companies, and I hate managers. Snakes and thieves, all of them”. Carli laughed, and Hope paused for a moment and then said, “Except for you. Won’t you just continue being my manager? I mean, you understand me, like, what I want and what I don't, and you’ve done such a good job taking care of me." Hope looked at Carli and smiled. "And you've been a good friend to me, too. I don't know what I'd do without you."

“Well thanks, Solo. I appreciate it, and likewise with the friendship, but artist management isn’t really my specialty", Carli said. "I’m a PR agent. I’m acting as your manager because you’re my friend, but you need real management again, and this management company, The Firm, is the best in the business." The Firm was one of the largest music artist management companies in the world. They managed Christina Aguilera, Kings Of Leon, Muse, Snoop Dogg, Metallica, Mumford and Sons, and many others.

“I don’t know…” Hope began, but Carli cut her off.

"Look, Hope – you’ve been a star for ten years, and you’re still on top, but, you know what they say in Hollywood: here today, gone later today. You need the best management in the business to stay in the game, and the God’s honest truth is that I just can't provide that to you.” Carli smiled apologetically, and Hope nodded her head.

“Yeah, I guess”, Hope said. “Well, maybe…” Hope trailed off.

“Maybe what, Hope?”

“Maybe…I don’t know. Maybe I just…” What Hope was thinking about saying was that it was possible that maybe she didn’t care about being on top anymore as much as she used to, and maybe it would be worth giving up the benefits of being on top, like playing to thousands of people, if it meant not having to deal with all of the pressure of being a famous rock star and all of the questionable people in the business. That thought had been creeping into her mind more and more lately.

Carli seemed to sense her thoughts and said, “Hey - I know you’re exhausted. Don’t think about anything right now. Just relax.” She ran her hand through Hope’s hair, and Hope smiled faintly. There was a moment of silence, and then Carli said, “You sure you don’t to come to the club with us?”

“I’m sure, thanks. Like I said, I'm not gonna meet the girl that I'm going to end up marrying at a club. You know…I’ll probably meet her while I’m…I don't know…shopping at the grocery store, or something.”

Carli laughed. “Yeah, yeah, okay, Miss Meet-Cute. Just thought I’d ask again. Anyway, go ahead and take your time. I’ll be right outside when you’re ready to face the mob.”

“Thanks, Car”, Hope said. Carli winked at her, walked out, and shut the door. Hope rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. She thought about how nice it would be to just go home right now and have a special someone to snuggle up with on the couch. Just a regular night in, like a normal person. She really did love playing music, but she also really could do without all of the limelight duties that came with being a Top 10 rock star. It was tiring, always being surrounded by people, always having to be "on", whether it watching how she looked and what she did and said because the media was always on her, or whether it was keeping her guard up because she wasn’t sure of what the people around her wanted. She had dreamed of being a rock star ever since she was fifteen, but she had never imagined that it would be so exhausting. She rested for another moment, trying to psych herself up. Okay - let's do this, she said to herself. She opened her eyes, got up off the couch, put on her brilliant smile, and then opened the door to face the mob.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey Abby, are you free right now?”

“Kelley, come on in”, Abby Wambach said. Kelley O’Hara walked into Abby’s office for their daily afternoon status meeting. Kelley worked as a junior manager at The Firm. They were in The Firm’s main office building, located right in Hollywood. Abby was a senior manager, and she managed some of The Firm's biggest clients. She was also Kelley’s direct supervisor. Kelley had started working at The Firm two years ago, right out of college. She managed some of The Firm’s smaller clients on her own and also assisted Abby with bigger clients.

“Big news”, Abby said, getting right to the point, as was her way. “I just signed Hope to our roster.”

“Whoa”, Kelley breathed out, shocked and in awe. “The Hope?” Hope had won Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year at the MTV Music Awards two months ago. She had consistently been in the Top 10 for the last ten years and was considered the hottest rock singer in the world.

“Yep, none other. I've been working on it for months. Hope had a nasty break from her previous management company, and for the last year, she’s been managed by her PR agent, Carli Lloyd. Carli’s a smart woman, and she's done a great job keeping Hope at the top, but Carli realizes that Hope needs real artist management, not a PR agent covering management duties. I've known Carli for years, and we have a good relationship, so she suggested that I take over Hope’s management", Abby said. "I set up a meeting here tomorrow with both Hope and Carli to transfer Hope's management contract. Now, I’ll be the primary manager on this, but I’d like you in on it as well.”

“Wow”, was all Kelley could think to say. She looked at Abby and thought, she's amazing. She’s the model of a successful music artist manager. She's what I aspire to be someday.

“The company is making Hope a top priority, and I’ll need some help managing her", Abby continued. "You did a great job breaking Blackheart into the Top 40, so I know you're capable. This will be a whole other level, though.”

“Wow”, Kelley said again. Her first shot at helping to manage a Top 10 artist. This was an unbelievable opportunity. Kelley had put everything else in her life aside to focus on her career, and if she did a good job with this out of the gates, maybe Abby would even let her manage Hope’s career by herself. To be managing one of the hottest rock artists in the world was a dream come true. “Well, I can’t wait to get started with her”, Kelley said. Then she paused for a moment and said, “I just hope she’s not a handful.”

“I’ve never met her, but Carli says she’s actually pretty level-headed, given how popular she is”, Abby said.

“Well, that’ll be refreshing”, Kelley said with a smile. Abby managed Ke$ha, and Kelley had covered for Abby for a week while Abby had been on vacation. Managing Ke$ha for just that week had been challenging, to say the least.

Abby smiled at her. “I’ll transfer your current clients to other managers, because starting tomorrow, for you it’s going to be all Hope, all the time.”

“You got it”, Kelley said. “Thanks, Abby. I really appreciate the opportunity." Kelley left Abby's office and headed back to her desk, high on excitement. She finished up some paperwork and then gathered up her briefcase. She was looking forward to her evening run. I need to jog off some of this excitement, she said to herself, as she headed home.  
 

********

   
Kelley walked into Whole Foods on Santa Monica Boulevard, just a few blocks from her apartment. She had just finished up her evening run and was stopping to get some fruit for her juicer on her way home. She headed for the produce section and was looking at oranges when she heard someone next to her.

“Hmmmm, these all look kind of old”, the voice came.

Kelley looked over and froze. Standing next to her was Hope, talking to herself as she picked through the oranges. She had never met Hope before, but she recognized her, even though Hope was dressed down. Hope was wearing a white shirt, a grey hoodie with the hood up, jeans, and Chucks. Her long brown hair peaked out from under the hood. Kelley had been working in the music business for a couple of years now and was for the most part past the point of blatant stargazing, but even so, seeing someone this close who was a Top 10 artist still made her pause. She’s beautiful, Kelley thought. But not just Hollywood beautiful, but, like, naturally beautiful. She has a magnetic aura and a quiet, commanding presence that only added to her already goddess-like looks. Maybe all stars have it, Kelley thought. She turned back to the oranges in front of her, debating whether or not to say anything, and then her mouth just kind of took over, and she spoke.

“Ummm, you should try picking from the bottom”, Kelley suggested in a friendly voice.

Hope looked up at the voice. It belonged to a cute redhead about four inches shorter than her. The redhead looked to be in her early twenties and spoke with a slight southern accent. She was wearing a black tank top, a pair of black leggings and white running shoes, and she was carrying an iPod and a pair of headphones. She looked like she had been working out. There was a light sheen of perspiration on her skin.

“Uh, okay”, Hope said, and half-smiled.

“They put the fresher fruit on the bottom and put the older stuff on top", Kelley said. "It’s called 'rotating product'. My family owns a small grocery store”, she said by way of explanation and then smiled. She hoped she wasn't chatting too much, invading Hope's alone time. She also hoped she didn’t look too gross, still sweating as she cooled down from her run.

Hope looked at her for a moment and then smiled back. “Well, thanks for the tip. Good to know.” Hope started to lift up oranges to look at the ones on the bottom. She found a good one, but as she removed it, the pile started to tremble. She made a move to steady it, but she was already holding an orange in one hand and a shopping basket in the other. The pile started to roll off the stand. “Oh shit!” Hope said, as the oranges started to roll off the stand.

“Here – I gotcha”, Kelley said, as she crouched next to Hope. She put her arms out and blocked the oranges from falling. “Okay – I think I stopped 'em all”, Kelley said, stuck in her crouched position, her outstretched arms preventing a dozen oranges from falling. Hope smiled at Kelley appreciatively and started putting the oranges back in place, and as she was about halfway finished, one more orange started to roll off the stand. Hope leaned over Kelley to grab it, and as she did, a piece of her hair brushed across Kelley's face. Kelley looked up at Hope and smiled slightly. Hope looked at Kelley and smiled slightly back.

“Thank you”, Hope said, her face not far from Kelley’s. She put the last orange back on the stand and continued smiling at Kelley.

“You’re welcome”, Kelley said. She caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume, and her heart fluttered a bit. She continued to smile back as she stood up. They stared at each other for a moment.

“Well, um…” Hope started to speak, then got lost in thought. I love her freckles. They’re adorable, Hope thought. And her smile. It was the kind of smile that could light up a whole room. Hope continued to stare at Kelley, still smiling, when her cell buzzed. She looked. It was a text from Carli, telling Hope to call her about the meeting tomorrow with the new management company. “Well, I have to go”, Hope said and held up her phone. "Work", she explained, almost apologetically. She paused for a moment, looking at Kelley, and said, “Well, have a great night. And thanks again for the help, catching all of those oranges for me.” She smiled again at Kelley.

Kelley hadn’t taken her eyes off Hope. She has the most amazing, intense eyes, Kelley thought. It’s like they see right through me. “You’re welcome”, Kelley said, and smiled back, again. She was debating about whether or not to say anything about their meeting tomorrow, but decided to hold that in. “You have a great night too”, she said instead.

Both women continued to smile at each other for a moment in silence, and then Hope turned to walk away. She got two steps away around and then stopped and turned back towards Kelley. “Hey - um…do you shop here often?” she asked.

"Yeah, I live close to here", Kelley said.

"Oh, cool. Me too", Hope said back smoothly. "Well, see you around…I hope", she said, and smiled at Kelley. Kelley smiled back, and then Hope turned and walked away to continue her shopping. Kelley watched her, still smiling, as Hope walked out of the produce section.


	3. Chapter 3

The Firm’s receptionist showed Hope and Carli to a large conference room. Abby and Kelley were already in the room waiting for them.

“Hi Hope, I’m Abby Wambach, a senior manager here at The Firm. It’s so nice to meet you”, Abby said enthusiastically as she rose from her seat. She extended her hand. ”And Carli – always a pleasure. Please, come in.”

Hope spotted Kelley as she shook Abby’s hand. “Hey! It’s you!” she said and smiled, as Kelley rose to greet her.

“Oh - you two know each other?” Abby asked, surprised.

“Uh, we met at Whole Foods yesterday”, Kelley said to her boss by way of explanation.

Kelley looked back at Hope and her heart skipped a beat. Gone was the dressed-down woman from the grocery store and before her was the rock goddess. Hope was wearing a white and red tank top, a studded belt, studded bracelet, black leather pants and tall black boots.

“I was shopping for some fruit, and I almost spilled like an entire stand of oranges. She caught them for me before they spilled”, Hope said to Abby, then looked back at Kelley and gave her a subtle wink.

“Oh", Abby said. She looked at Kelley and smiled. "Nice job", Abby complimented, and then looked at Hope. “Well, I’m glad to see that we’re assisting you already.” The four women laughed together. “Hope, Carli, this is Kelley O’Hara. She’ll be assisting me with managing Hope’s career.”

“Great”, Hope said, and smiled again at Kelley.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hope”, Kelley said and extended her hand for Hope to shake. 

“But we’ve already met”, Hope said with a sly smile as she shook it.

“Officially”, Kelley said, and smiled professionally.

“Well, let’s have a seat and get started”, Abby said, as she motioned to the chairs at the table.

   
********  
 

“So, to sum it up, the best thing to do right now is to put Hope back out on the road as soon as we can. The album is still hot, and we want to keep the momentum rolling. Carli – you said you’ve already laid the groundwork for Hope’s next tour, which should start in a few weeks, so we can finalize that. Sound good?”

“Sounds great”, Carli said. “Hope?”

“Uh, yeah”, Hope said, as she stifled a small yawn to the back of her hand. Even though she had slept in yesterday and lounged around her house for most of the day, she was still tired from eight months of touring, and business meetings were inherently boring to her.

“Are you okay?” Carli asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired”, Hope replied.

“I’m sure”, Abby said, understandingly. “We know you just got back from a long tour. Great show the other night at The Arena, by the way. I was there with a couple of the other senior managers from The Firm. Anyway, how about a cup of coffee?” Before Hope could answer, Abby said, “Kelley – why don’t you take Hope out for a moment to grab a cup of coffee, while Carli and I start transferring Hope's contract.”

“Absolutely”, Kelley said. She rose, then looked at Hope and smiled. “Shall we?”

“Sure.” Hope smiled back, suddenly more energetic, happy to get out of this boring meeting and, more importantly, happy to spend some time alone with Kelley. She rose and followed Kelley out of the conference room.

“Do you want to go to Starbucks, or is regular coffee from our Keurig machine okay?” Kelley asked, as she walked with Hope down the hall. People stared at Hope as they passed by.

“Regular coffee is fine, thanks. I’m not fancy”, Hope said and smiled. Kelley smiled back, and then Hope asked, “Hey, did you know we were meeting today?”

“I found out yesterday evening, just like an hour before I met you at the grocery store”, Kelley said.

“Oh”, Hope said, then frowned a bit. “Why didn't you say anything, when we met last night?”

They reached the coffee machine. Kelley stopped walking and Hope stopped alongside her. Kelley looked at Hope for a moment and then said, “I didn't want to say anything because I didn’t want to make a big deal out of recognizing you in public. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to talk about music, or who you are, or anything like that while you were out grocery shopping.” Kelley smiled at Hope and said, “I didn’t want you to feel like you were getting, I don’t know…bombarded by a stranger. I know how it is for you. People probably recognize you all the time and stop you wherever you are, for autographs and pictures and what not. You're probably surrounded by people 24/7, and you probably feel like you always have to be 'on'." Hope was just staring at Kelley, and Kelley, despite having made a mental note to herself to check her normally chatty mouth, kept talking. “I mean, my guess is that you were wandering around the grocery store all incognito with your hoodie up because you probably wanted to be able to shop in peace. I wanted you to feel like…like you could be out in public like a normal person and not get…I don’t know…harassed, or bombarded, or whatever..." Hope was still staring at Kelley with her intense eyes, and Kelley stopped talking as she realized she was rambling. She took a bit of a breath and then smiled at Hope again. "That's why I didn't say anything."

Hope looked at Kelley for a moment longer and then smiled back. “Well, thank you”, she said with genuine appreciation. “I appreciate that. I mean, I do get stopped a lot in public.”

Kelley smiled at Hope for a moment longer and then made her a cup of coffee. “I figured”, Kelley said. “Also, I knew we’d be working together, so I wanted to have us ‘officially’ meet for the first time here in the office. You know – start our relationship out professionally.”

Kelley was trying hard, maybe a bit too hard, to come off as professional and not-junior as possible. Hope sensed that and smiled. “I get it. Makes sense”, Hope said as Kelley handed her a cup of coffee.

“Thanks”, Hope said and winked at Kelley.

Kelley felt her pulse quicken a bit. She did her best to keep her professional game face on. “Um, well…shall we rejoin Abby and Carli?” she asked, as she started walking back down the hallway.

"Sure. After you", Hope said, and she followed Kelley’s lead. Kelley could feel Hope watching her from behind, and she felt a tingle run up her spine as she led them back to the conference room.  
 

********  
 

Kelley was relaxing in her bathtub. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Hope since their meeting at the office earlier in the day. Actually, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Hope since their encounter last night at Whole Foods, when a piece of Hope's hair had brushed across her face and she had caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume. She's beautiful, Kelley thought. Even dressed down, she's beautiful, and dressed up…well, she looks like the rock goddess that she is. But, more than that, she seems like…a cool person. It’s funny - the world knows her as a rock star, but really, she seems like just a normal girl – well, woman, Kelley mused. Then Kelley's thoughts flopped. But, she's still a musician, Kelley thought and sighed. Since graduating college and starting at The Firm a couple of years ago, Kelley had embraced a rule – never mix business with pleasure. That meant not having a relationship with anyone in the music world. Abby had told Kelley on Kelley's first day at The Firm that the music business is a hard business. You don’t need to complicate things any further by shitting where you eat. Plus, if you want to make it, you need to be one hundred percent focused on your career. It's a cutthroat profession, Abby had said. In the last few years, Kelley had been on a handful of dates, but none with anyone in the music industry, and nothing serious had ever materialized. Managing artists was a demanding career, and it left little time for anything else.

Kelley closed her eyes, tilted her head back and slid down in her tub. She felt the day drain away, and she started to drift off into a light doze. As her mind wandered, she flashed to a quick fantasy of her and Hope, walking hand in hand, eating ice cream, sitting on a beach together and staring out at the ocean, or canoodling as they rode a Ferris wheel together at an amusement park. Just two normal girls, on a normal date, on their way to falling in love with each other. I know I said I would never be with anyone in the music world, Kelley thought to herself, but would I make an exception for Hope? Then Kelley’s eyes opened and she laughed at herself. Who am I kidding? she thought. Like that would ever be a choice I would have to make. Hope’s a Top 10 rock star, and I’m a lowly junior manager. Kelley knew from Hope’s Wikipedia page and from just being in the business that Hope was single, but still, that didn’t mean she even had the faintest chance with her. I mean, I can’t believe Hope’s not with someone, Kelley mused. Another rock star, or a movie star, or a pro athlete. Someone rich and famous, Kelley thought, as she closed her eyes again.


	4. Chapter 4

Kelley was lying in her bed. Her alarm had just gone off. It was a bit before 7am. It had been a busy week since the initial meeting with Hope and Carli, and Abby had been leaning heavily on Kelley for support. Kelley hadn't seen Hope since the initial meeting, but the week had been filled with long days of doing paperwork, making phone calls, and dealing with contracts and financials, as well as finalizing all of the details for Hope's upcoming tour. Kelley was familiar with all of the work involved, but she had never worked on something of this magnitude. She was exhausted and was enjoying a few more minutes of dozing in her bed when her phone rang. Dammit, she thought. One of the occupational hazards of working as an artist manager in the music industry is that you were kind of always on call. She cursed, rolled over, and grabbed her phone off the bed stand. She groaned as she looked at the number. It was a work number. Who would be calling her this early?  
“Hello?” Kelley answered, trying to sound as awake as possible, despite still being half asleep.

“Kelley, this is Jill Ellis”, the voice came over the phone.

Jill Ellis was the CEO of The Firm. She had been a fixture in Hollywood for over a quarter of a century. Kelley’s eyes shot open and she bolted up in bed. “Yes, hi, Jill…uh…Ms. Ellis. What can I do for you?”

“Abby Wambach was in a car accident last night. I need you to come down to the office as soon as you can.”

“Oh my God”, Kelley said, suddenly wide awake. “Is she alright?”

“She’s alright, but she’ll be out of commission for a while. We need to talk about coverage for her clients. Let’s meet in my office in an hour. See you then.” Jill hung up without waiting for a response, and Kelley jumped out of bed. She showered quickly, put on the most presentable outfit that she could manage the quickest, made herself up as best she could in as short amount of time as possible, and then rushed out the door. She drove to the office as quickly as possible and rushed into Jill’s office.

“Good morning, Ms. Ellis. What happened to Abby?” Kelley asked, as she sat down in a chair opposite Jill’s desk. Christine Rampone, the most senior artist manager on staff, was also in attendance.

“Abby was driving home from the office late last night. A drunk driver ran a red light and hit her car”, Jill said. “She’s okay, but she’ll be out of work for about a month or so. Christine and I are trying to figure out how to divide up her workload. We will have Christine cover most of it, but we’re going to need some help. We’ve scheduled a meeting with Hope and Carli Lloyd at 10am. Abby said you have been helping her with Hope. We’d like you to sit in with us today.”

“Of course”, Kelley said. “Anything I can do to help…please let me know.”

“Great. We’ll see you in the north conference room in a couple hours.”

Kelley got up and left Jill’s office, her head spinning. Abby in an accident…her own involvement in Hope’s career in question…what's going to happen? She walked back to her cubicle, sat down in her chair and thought.

   
********  
 

“Hope, I'm Jill Ellis, CEO here at The Firm. Thanks for coming in on such short notice”, Jill said. “Carli – you as well.” Everyone sat down and Jill continued. “Hope, as I told Carli when we spoke this morning, Abby was in a car accident last night.”

“Oh my God”, Hope said. “That’s terrible. Is she alright?”

“Thank you, Hope”, Jill said. “She is expected to make a full recovery, but she will be out for a while. Now, we know you have a lot in the works right now, especially with an upcoming tour, which kicks off in two weeks, so we want to talk about how we’re going to cover for Abby during her absence. I think the best course of action would be for Christine here to take over Hope’s management until Abby returns.” Jill nodded to Christine, who was sitting next to her. “Christine is our most senior manager, and you will be in good hands.” Christine smiled at the compliment, and Jill smiled reassuringly at Hope.

“That sounds good”, Carli said, and smiled reassuringly at Hope as well. “And I’m available to help with anything as well.”

“That works for me”, Hope said. Then she looked at Kelley. She appeared to be thinking for a moment, and then said, “How about we have Kelley manage me on my tour?” Kelley’s jaw dropped slightly, and she stared back at Hope. Hope looked at Jill, and then at Christine, and then at Carli, and then back at Kelley.

“Well, Hope”, Jill started, “We plan on having Kelley help Christine, but we think you should have someone more experienced guiding this tour.”

Kelley looked around the room. It was one of the hottest rock stars in the world, three Hollywood heavy hitters, and then her. You couldn’t buy an audience like this. She needed to say the right thing. “I-I-I would agree”, Kelley said. “I mean, I’m happy to help however I can, but Hope – you’re one of the biggest artists in the world. Having a senior manager like Christine on this tour is paramount to your success.” Kelley hoped she was coming off as prudent in front of the owner of the company, the most senior artist manager, a Top 10 rock star and one of the most successful PR agents in Hollywood.

Hope looked at Kelley, and then at Christine and Jill. “Well, I was just thinking…I’m sure Christine has her own clients to take care of. That’s going to be hard to do if she’s is out on the road with me on my upcoming tour.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I’m sure Kelley is capable of babysitting me for a few months?” Jill laughed politely. Hope looked at Kelley and winked, and Kelley felt her face flush.

The room was silent as everyone considered that, and then Christine said, “I guess that would be fine.” She would have never suggested that herself, but if Hope was okay with Christine not having to be out on tour for three months, then that would take a colossal weight off her shoulders. “Why don’t we do this – for now we can plan on Kelley managing you on your upcoming tour. I will accompany Kelley for the first week to make sure things start out smoothly, and then Kelley can take the lead for the rest of the tour, which I understand is around three months. Kelley and I can check in daily by phone and email.”

“I guess we can see how that goes", Carli said, a bit of concern in her voice. "And I’ll do the same. I’ll go for the first week or so, just to make sure everything’s running smoothly, and then we’ll leave you two on your own.”

“Sounds great” Hope said, and smiled at Kelley.

“Christine - I would like you available, though, to jump in at a moment’s notice, should Kelley need help at any point along the way”, Carli said.

“Of course, Carli”, Christine said and smiled at her.

“Well then, it sounds like we have a plan. Very good”, Jill said. “Hope – thanks so much for your time. Carli – you as well. We’ll be in touch soon.”

Hope and Carli stood up, smiled and walked out of the conference room. Kelley showed them out to the front reception area and hit the button for the elevator. It dinged, and Hope and Carli got in.

"Bye, manager", Hope said in her smooth voice and winked at Kelley.

"Bye, Hope. Bye Carli", Kelley said, trying to keep her voice as professional as possible.

"Talk soon", Hope said, and gave a little wave as the elevator door shut.

Kelley smiled at Hope as the doors closed and then walked back to her desk. Managing Hope…by herself…for three months…on tour. Wow. Welcome to the big time, Kelley said to herself. Just don’t screw it up.

   
********  
 

“Hope, are you sure you want Kelley to be your manager on this upcoming tour?” Carli asked. They were in Carli’s office in West Hollywood. Hope was sipping a cup of coffee. Hope liked coffee. Coffee and ice cream. Most rock stars Carli knew liked booze and drugs, but not Hope. Hope might be the first rock star to end up in rehab for an addiction to coffee and ice cream, Carli mused.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Why?”

“Well, she’s a junior manager, and you’re one of the hottest rock stars in the world. And you have been, for like ten years. I mean, Kelley broke Blackheart into the Top 40, but the level you are on is a whole other ballgame.” Carli looked at Hope and then said, “Frankly, she doesn’t have the experience.”

“I know”, Hope said, “but I want to give her a chance. I mean, why not?”

“Hope - this is a big tour, and there’s a lot riding on it. This tour needs to be successful for you to keep momentum. And we need you to keep momentum right now. You know what they say in Hollywood: here today-"

“Gone later today”, Hope said and rolled her eyes. That was one of Carli’s favorite sayings, and she knew it was true, but still, Hope hated hearing it. It sounded so…shallow. “I know, I know. But, I want someone who, you know...is, like, a cool person.” Carli didn’t say anything, so Hope continued on. “It was like…when we met at the store, she treated me like, well, a person. Like, she wanted me to be able to just shop like a regular person. It was just like…you know…two normal girls, meeting each other. Like, she didn’t make a big deal out of the fact that I’m famous, or whatever. And that’s what I want the most. Sometimes I feel like so many people around me are around me just because I’m famous. It’s nice to feel like…I don’t know…a normal person again. I know I keep saying that, but it really is true. Like, as if people like me for who I really am, just me: Hope Solo, from Smalltown, Washington.” She looked at Carli, who was still staring at her, and said, “Plus, there’s backups in place. Christine said she could jump in if need be.” Hope smiled at Carli. “And you’ll be there to back me up, too. As always.”

Carli smiled. “Of course. Look, it’s great you feel that Kelley may not care that you’re a rock star and might even like you because you’re you, but that still doesn’t necessarily mean that you should choose her to be your manager.”

“I want someone who will care about me, especially after the shit I went through with the last management company”, Hope said, her tone taking on a slight edge. “If we’re going to be spending that much time together, I want someone who will see me as more than just a dollar making machine.”

“Hope, Kelley’s a manager. That’s pretty much what managing is – making sure your artist makes as much money as possible. All managers are like that”, Carli said, not in a mean way, but just in a matter-of-fact way.

“You’re not like that”, Hope said, and Carli smiled. Hope was adorably clueless sometimes, Carli thought. Even after all these years, she was sometimes still so naive on the business end of things, but that was actually one of the things that endeared her to Carli. “And if there’s one person in the industry that isn’t like that, then there can be others.” Hope smiled. “I don’t think Kelley is like that, either”, she continued. “She seems like a caring person. Like you. I can tell. Plus, her company trusts her. Isn’t that a good vote of confidence?”

“Well, I still think you should have a more experienced manager out there with you, but it’s up to you”, Carli said. “I guess we can just see how things play out when Christine and I leave after the first week of the tour. Again, I will be there for you, should you need help.”

“Thanks, Car”, Hope said, and sipped her coffee.

   
********  
 

“Hey, Abby”, Kelley said, as she walked over to the hospital bed.

“Kelley”, Abby whispered.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore”, Abby croaked out. She paused for a moment and then said, “I spoke with Christine”. Even though she was laid up a hospital bed, Abby was all business. “I heard you will be taking Hope out on the road.”

“Yeah”, Kelley said and smiled. “I’ll be her manager for her three month tour. I mean, Christine will be watching over me.“

“Still, it's a great opportunity”, Abby said. “Your first Top 10 artist. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Abby. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Abby smiled for a moment but then turned serious. She grabbed Kelley’s wrist. “Just remember something, Kelley. Let me be real clear here. Hope is not your friend. She is your client. She is not your friend, and she’s definitely not someone you want to start any kind of personal relationship with.” She paused and then said, “Nothing will destroy your management career faster than a failed relationship with an artist. And believe me”, Abby said, looking straight into Kelley’s eyes, “if you try, it will fail. It always does. Hollywood is laden with tales of failed romantic relationships in the music business, and more often then not those failed relationships have wreaked havoc.” Abby paused for a moment and then said, “Kelley, you are one of the brightest young managers in this town. You have your whole career ahead of you. Don’t throw it away by doing something dumb.”

Kelley swallowed at the stern advice, and then said, “Thank you, Abby.” She looked at her boss for another moment and then said, I hope you feel better soon.” Abby smiled weakly, and then Kelley turned around and walked out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

“So, you ready?” Carli asked with a smile as she did a last-minute check of her office. She and Hope were surrounded by suitcases and bags. A car was coming to pick them up in fifteen minutes. From there, it was over to the studio, where the crew was already loading other belongings and equipment onto the tour buses and semi truck.

Hope looked at Carli. She wanted to tell Carli that she was tired and that the thought of three months on tour was making her even more tired, but she put on a smile and said, “Yep, you know it”, in the most cheerful tone of voice she could muster.

Carli stopped her check and looked back at Hope. She could always tell when Hope was faking enthusiasm. “Hope…”, she said and let it hang.

“What?”

“Hope…” Carli said, drawing out Hope’s name. Carli knew what was coming, based on what Hope had started to say on the last night of the previous tour, three weeks ago. She knew Hope was on the fence about going back out on tour, but she needed to get back out there if she was going to stay on top. Beneath all of the glitz and glam, it was a hard grind, touring nine months out of the year. Most people didn’t realize how grueling it was. The constant travel. Being in a different town every day. Having to always be “on”. But touring was necessary. It was the number one way for an artist to stay on top and make money.

“I’m tired, Car”, Hope said. “I thought that these three weeks off would recharge me, but I’m not gonna lie – I’m just burnt.”

Carli smiled empathetically. “I hear ya. I was on that tour too, with you, remember? All eight months of it. And it was a crippler. I know. And I know what you mean – it seems like the three weeks we just had off flew by in an instant. But just hang in there. We just need these next three months to keep ourselves going, and then we can take the rest of the year off.”

Hope exhaled and then said, “Touring’s just not as easy as it was when I was younger.”

“I hear ya. Well, just hang in there, okay?” Carli said again. She looked at Hope, and when Hope didn’t respond, Carli said, “Hawaii.”

“Huh?” Hope said.

“Hawaii. After this tour, I’ll send you on a vacation to Hawaii.” Carli smiled at Hope, and she saw Hope cracked a small smile back. “I know how much you love it there.”

Hope laughed lightly. She did love Hawaii. Her little beach bungalow in Kauai was her favorite vacation spot. The thought of being there relaxed her. She looked at Carli, exhaled and smiled, and said, “It’s a deal.”

 

   
********  
 

Kelley stared out the window as the bus hummed down the freeway. They were on their way to San Diego for the first stop of the tour. There were three buses and a semi truck in tow. The bus that Kelley was on was the nicest, reserved for Hope, Kelley, Christine and Carli. The rest of the band was on the second bus, and the crew were in the third bus, with the semi bringing up the rear. It was an impressive caravan.

Hope and Carli were in the lounge area in the back of the bus. Kelley was up front in the dining area with Christine, going over the game plan and itinerary. Kelley was trying to focus but kept getting distracted looking around the bus. She had been on tour buses before, but never one this nice. In addition to the dining area and the lounge in the back, there were two king-sized beds, a full bathroom, and even a small kitchen. It was like a moving house, and not necessarily a small one. It was a lot bigger than Kelley’s apartment. Kelley looked towards the back and saw Hope lounging and talking with Carli. Hope was wearing a pair of form-fitting designer jeans and a purple tank top. Kelley caught herself staring and started to look away, but right before she did, Hope looked up. It took Kelley a second to realize that Hope had caught her staring, but then Hope smiled coolly and gave Kelley a tiny wave. Kelley broke out of her trance, smiled, slightly embarrassed, and waved back, then focused her attention on to what Christine was saying.

“…and the production manager will take care of the details at every venue. Your biggest responsibility is to take care of Hope. Got that?”

“Uh, yeah, got that. Take care of Hope”, Kelley repeated. 

“Whatever she needs, just…make it happen.”

“Got it.”

“One thing, though”, Christine said. She lowered her voice and leaned in. “You may end up going out with Hope. You know – to dinner, events, etc. Just…keep it professional.”

“Yep, got that”, Kelley said. “Abby told me the same thing. Keep it professional.”

“Good”, Christine said and smiled. “Any questions?”

Kelley shook her head. “No, I think I’m good.”

Christine looked at Kelley and then rubbed Kelley's shoulder lightly and smiled. “There’s a lot to learn and a lot to do, but once you get into a groove, you’ll find that things will become routine, and the tour will kind of take care of itself.” Kelley smiled, and Christine patted Kelley's knee. “I’m sure you’re going to do fine.”

   
********  
 

The first few days of the tour went by in a whirl. The shows in San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas went off without a hitch. Days, Kelley would spend managing Hope’s affairs, fielding calls and emails for interviews and appearances, and confirming details for upcoming shows. Kelley split her time between working the business end of things and looking after Hope. Kelley had heard horror stories of rock stars running managers ragged, but Hope was so low-key. She had to have coffee right when she woke up, and she liked to have at least a couple hours of alone time in the afternoon, but other than that, she was pretty low-maintenance. At night, Kelley would manage the events from before the performance to the time Hope retired to her hotel room. Kelley had never been this involved in the affairs of a rock star of Hope’s magnitude, and at show time she would stand on the side of the stage, watching in awe as Hope captivated the thousands of people in the crowd.  
On the fourth day of the tour, Kelley was in her hotel room, working through some emails and logistics for the next few days. The caravan had pulled into San Francisco the night before. It was now just before noon, and Kelley was about to go attend the daily lunch status meeting with Hope, Carli and Christine, when her phone rang. It was Christine.

“Hey Christine.”

“Kelley - I was just talking with Carli, and we think you should do the status meeting with Hope alone today.”

“Wait – you guys don’t want to…you aren’t going to be there?”

“No, we don’t really need to be. You’re doing a good job, and you should get used to meeting with Hope alone. Besides, if something does go wrong on your first meeting alone with her, both Carli and I will still be here.” Both Carli and Christine were scheduled to leave the tour and fly back to L.A. in three days.

“Uh, okay. I’ll do the meeting with just me and Hope then”, Kelley said, excited but a little nervous to be having this meeting with Hope alone. I’ll uh, let you know how it goes.”

“Okay, I’ll email you the agenda right now. Let’s talk later”, Christine said and hung up. Kelley exhaled a deep breath, waited for the email from Christine, and then grabbed her laptop and headed down the hall towards Hope’s hotel room.

   
********  
 

“Hey Kelley”, Hope said as she answered the door, barefoot, in another pair of form-fitting designer jeans and a low-cut tank top. “Come on in.”

“Thanks”, Kelley said as she entered. Kelley stared for a few seconds, and as Hope walked past her she caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume. Kelley’s heart fluttered for a moment. She forced herself to refocus. “So, um…how’s it going today?”

“Pretty good”, Hope said in her smooth voice. “By the way, I haven’t spoken with Carli today. Have you heard from Christine?”

“Um, they’re actually not coming today”, Kelley said. Hope stared at Kelley with her intense eyes, and Kelley felt herself getting nervous, but did her best to stay cool. “I spoke with Christine. She said we could do the meeting, just you and me.” Hope continued to stare at her. “Um…is that okay?” Kelley asked nervously.

Hope stared for another second and then laughed. “Yes, that’s totally okay”, she said.

“Oh, whew”, Kelley exhaled and smiled. “I thought you were, like, mad or worried or something, because you were staring at me.”

“I was just giving you a hard time”, Hope said lightly. “Just wanted to see if you could take a stare. I mean, you have to be tough in this business”, Hope said, then smiled and winked at Kelley. Kelley felt her face flush. She tried to think of something to say, something that would make her look witty, clever, or confident, but couldn’t think of anything, so instead she just smiled. Hope smiled back and then said, “Well, we don’t need the parents here anyway, do we?”

Kelley laughed. “No, I don’t think we do.” She looked around the room. For a Top 10 rock star Hope’s room was surprisingly tidy. And surprisingly small. It was a junior suite, so it was larger than a standard hotel room, but evidently Hope didn’t require the penthouse. There was a coffee cup on the table, a guitar resting against the couch, and soccer on the TV. Hope was looking at Kelley and saw Kelley’s eyes fixate on the TV screen.

“Do you like soccer?” Hope asked.

Kelley snapped out of her trance. “Yeah, I love it. I used to play.”

“Oh, cool!”, Hope said. “So did I.”

“I know”, Kelley said, a little too quickly. Hope stared at her, so Kelley said, “I mean, I read that you used to play, on your Wikipedia page.”

“Ah, yes. Wikipedia. The source of all good information”, Hope said and smiled. “What position did you play?”

“Mostly forward, but I also played defense. I mean, I guess I played a bit of everything.”

“Nice. I played forward too.”

“Do you still play?” Kelley asked. “I mean, you know…for fun? I mean, I’m sure you’re busy a lot of the time, so you don’t have time to play, and, I mean, not professionally, but, well, and…” Kelley trailed off. She was about to say, “And you look amazing”, but she stopped herself as she realized her rambling habit was taking over.

“And…what?” Hope asked.

“Oh, nothing”, Kelley said, a little shyly. “Sorry, I was rambling.”

“Kelley”, Hope prodded in her smooth, low voice.

“Well, I was just going to say, um, you look like you’re in really good shape still…” Kelley said, and then thought – was that out of line? She smiled at Hope, a little embarrassed.

Hope stared at her for a second and then smiled back. “Well thank you. And no, I don’t play anymore, but I actually did play one year in college, but they already had an awesome forward so they stuck me in goal, and I couldn’t quite get the hang of it. Then I dropped out of college after my freshman year and moved to L.A. to pursue music.”

“Well, that move obviously paid off”, Kelley said. 

“It did”, Hope agreed, “but I still love soccer. I’d love to play again sometime.” She looked at Kelley and said, “Maybe when we get some free time, we can do a little one-on-one?” Hope smiled and raised her eyebrows.

“Uh…yeah, that would be…one-on-one would be great”, Kelley said. She was a bit flustered, not quite able to make out what Hope was meaning, and unsure how to respond to a Top 10 rock star, but then her mouth just kind of took over as it had at the market the day they had met, and she said, “I mean, as long as you think you can keep up with me.”

“Ooooh”, Hope said and pursed her lips. “A little sass.” She looked at Kelley and then laughed lightly. “I like that. You’re on, junior”, she said. Then it was Kelley’s turn to laugh, and she glared at Hope playfully.

“Anytime, old lady.”, Kelley said. She smiled at Hope, and Hope’s eyes twinkled back at her

   
********  
 

“Hey, are you hungry?” Hope asked. She and Kelley had just finished reviewing the daily agenda. There wasn’t much on tap for today except for a radio interview in the evening.

“Um, yeah…starving actually.” Kelley started to get up. “Do you want me to order something? What do you want?”

Hope stared at Kelley for a second and then said, “You know what? Let’s go out. We have the day off, and I could use some fresh air. And some clam chowder in a bread bowl. I mean, we’re in San Francisco, after all. What do you say?”

“Uh, yeah…I mean, is that okay? I mean, are we…”

“What - are we ‘allowed’ to leave the hotel and go out in public? Is that what you were going to ask me?” Hope asked, amused.

“Well, yeah, I guess so”, Kelley admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I know we have things to do, and people will probably be looking for us, or at least you. And me too, I guess.”

“They can wait”, Hope said. “We don’t have anything scheduled until later, and you know what? Everyone can wait for a couple hours. I mean, we need to eat, right?”  
“Well, yeah, true”, Kelley said.

“Plus, you shouldn’t skip meals. Especially a growing girl like you”, Hope teased.

“Okay, grandma, thanks for the tip”, Kelley teased back.

Hope laughed and then said, “Anyway, if Christine or Carli asks you where you were, you can just say that you were accompanying me, ‘taking care’ of me. I mean, that’s your job, right? To take care of me?” Hope asked with a wink.

“Yes, it is”, Kelley said and smiled. “Anyway, I’ve never had clam chowder in a bread bowl.”

“Well, then we have to get some. I insist”, Hope said. “It’s delicious.”

“Okay, uh, sounds good.” Kelley said. “So, um, what shoes do you want to wear? Do you need me to get them for you?” Kelley started to look around the room, and Hope laughed.

“Kelley – I need you to manage my business affairs. You don’t need to dress me”, Hope said and laughed lightly.

“Oh, okay. I just figured, um…”

“What - that because I’m a Top 10 rock star I need to be waited on hand and foot?” Hope laughed again. “Maybe some other people need that, but not me. I can dress myself.” Hope paused for a second and then said, “But it was kind of fun to watch you look around for my shoes. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Kelley blushed a bit and smiled lightly, then said, “Well, I thought maybe, you…you know, being so old and all, might need help getting dressed.”

Hope laughed as she grabbed a pair of Chucks. “Ah, there we go again with the sass.” She stared at Kelley for a second and then said, “I like it”, and winked.  
 

********  
 

Kelley called a car, and she and Hope rode down to Fisherman’s Wharf. Private cars were one of the few luxuries of celebrity life that Hope really appreciated. It wasn’t like she was above taking taxis or public transportation, but the longer she was out in public, the greater the chance that she might be spotted, and therefore the greater the chance that she might get mobbed. Hope had thrown on her hoodie and a pair of sunglasses for their lunch adventure. She and Kelley walked around the wharf for a bit and then got clam chowder bread bowls at a casual restaurant on one of the piers. Kelley was amazed that so far no one had recognized Hope, even with her being incognito, but a few people had done double takes or looked her over, especially when they had been stuck standing in line to place their orders. Kelley had suggested that Hope stand outside so she wouldn’t be recognized and perhaps mobbed while waiting in line, but Hope had scoffed at that.

“Kelley, I wanted to go out today because I want to feel like a normal person. If I was afraid of getting mobbed, I would have stayed inside my hotel room.”

“I guess”, Kelley said. “But it must be hard having to go out incognito every time you go out in public.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a drag”, Hope affirmed. “But I guess that’s the price you pay for being able to play to tens of thousands of people every night.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s worth it.”

“Hmmm”, is all Hope said. Kelley wondered what that meant, since she had expected Hope to say something more along the lines of “Absolutely”, but she let it pass. They took their bread bowls to go and sat down to eat on one of the benches at the end of the pier.

“Mmmmm…this is soooo good”, Kelley said as she took a spoonful of clam chowder.

“I’m glad you like it”, Hope said and smiled. “The best part is how the clam chowder makes the bread bowl soggy, and then you eat the bread bowl, and it tastes like clam chowder.” Kelley smiled and nodded in agreement as she took another spoonful.

They ate for a minute longer in silence and then Hope asked, “So, why did you leave the Georgia peach farm?”

“Wait, what? A peach farm?” Kelley said. “And how did you know I was from Georgia?”

“I read your Wikipedia page”, Hope joked.

“Wait – I have a Wikipedia page?” Kelley asked, surprised.

“I’m kidding”, Hope said and laughed. “I don’t know if you have one. Or if you’re from a farm. I was just playing. But I guessed Georgia because you have an accent. A southern accent, but not Texas accent, so I thought maybe Georgia. Or maybe Alabama or northern Florida. Did I get it right? Is it Georgia?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I do have a bit of an accent”, Kelley admitted. “And yes, Georgia is correct. I’m surprised you could identify my accent.”

“Well, I have done a bit of traveling”, Hope said and winked.

Kelley smiled. Hope was actually really nice to be around, she thought. Right now, at this moment, it was kind of like just hanging out with a friend, and not a rock star. A very beautiful, stunning and charismatic friend. “Of course”, Kelley said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “I grew up in Fayetteville, not too far from Atlanta. My parents owned a small grocery store there.”

“Cool. Is your whole family still there?”

Kelley was silent for a moment and then said, “My dad left us when I was ten.”

“Oh”, Hope said. “Where did he go?”

“I don’t know”, Kelley said. “He just up and left. My aunt took over for my dad at the store and has helped my mom run it ever since. My older sister Erin works there too.”

“Do you ever talk with your dad?”

“No. I haven’t seen him since he left.”

“I’m sorry to hear that”, Hope says.

“Thanks.”

It’s quiet for a moment and then Hope asked, “Are you still close to your sister and your mom?”

“Yeah. My sister and I are best friends. My mom and I are pretty close, but she worries about me. She worries about me working in the music industry and it not being a steady profession, and she worries that if I was to meet someone on a personal level, that person will leave me, just like my dad left us.”

“That’s good that you’re still close to them.”

Kelley was quiet for another moment and then said, “My dad leaving is like the most painful memory for me, and I wanted to get as far away from it as possible, so I focused on playing soccer and studying hard in high school, and I ended up getting a soccer scholarship to UCLA.”

“Wow”, Hope said. “So you must be pretty good.” She looked at Kelley, and Kelley just smiled modestly. “I’m worried now”, Hope said. “I may actually not be able to keep up with you.”

Kelley laughed. “Well, I played all through college, but I wasn’t good enough to go any further with it, so it’s been a couple years since I’ve played. Anyway, I got into music, being in L.A. and all, so I ended up studying music business, and then I got a job with The Firm right out of school. I’ve been working there ever since.” Kelley was about to start talking about how her father leaving her family and her mother telling her that music is an unstable profession has made her determined to make it in the music business, and on her own steam, but she realized that she was talking a lot, and she didn’t want to monopolize the conversation, especially talking with her client, who was a Top 10 rock star, so she stopped talking and asked, “So, what about you? What’s your story?”

Hope looked at her from beneath her sunglasses. “I thought you said you read my Wikipedia page”, she said. Then she smiled and winked at Kelley. Kelley smiled back, and the two of them gazed at each other for a moment and then went back to eating their clam chowder bread bowls.


	6. Chapter 6

The next week flew by. The tour stopped in major cities as they made their way north through Oregon and Washington, and then east through Idaho, Utah and Colorado. Carli and Christine had stayed on for a few extra days but had flown out of Denver to go back to L.A. (“the parents are gone” is how Hope had termed their departure with a wink to Kelley). By now, Kelley had gotten the hang of managing the tour, and to her surprise, Christine was pretty much right when she said that things would become routine and the tour would kind of run itself. Mornings were spent setting up the day and confirming all of the details for shows and events for the days immediately following. Afternoons were spent with Hope, doing promo events like interviews and live appearances. Nights were spent putting on the show. If there were no events on a particular day, or no show, or even if they had a few free hours, Hope and Kelley would often go out together and grab a cup of coffee or a meal, with Hope dressing up incognito, or they would bring whatever they got back to the hotel room. Sometimes they talked about business. Sometimes Hope would entertain Kelley with tales of rock star life. Other times they would talk about their families, friends, and everything and anything else.  
 

********  
 

“What’s up, superstar?” Erin said as she came onto the screen.

“Hey big sis”, Kelley said as she reclined on the couch in her hotel room. This was the first time she had Skyped with Erin since the start of the tour.

“Nice to hear from you. How’s everything going out there on tour?”

“Good. Super busy, but good.”

“Your first big tour. That’s so cool! I’m so proud of you.” At that, Kelley beamed, and Erin smiled back. “So…what’s it like being around Hope Solo all day? Is she a total diva? Or is she cool?”

“Um, she’s actually really cool”, Kelley said. “I mean, she has to have her coffee, and she needs an hour or two of alone time at least some time during the day, but other than that, she’s pretty level headed. I mean, she likes soccer, well, we both like soccer, and she dresses down sometimes, like when she goes out in public, when she doesn’t want to be recognized. Like, we went out one day to get clam chowder, just me and her, and she just wanted to be like a normal person, like, someone who would go out with someone else just to get clam chowder, and, she’s really cool, and when it comes down to it she really is just like a normal person, and it was really nice, like just us two girls going to get clam chowder, and-“

Erin stared back over the screen, a small smirk forming on her face.

“What?” Kelley said.

“You’re rambling, Kel.”

“What? No I’m not.”

“You have a crush on Hope, don’t you?”

“What? No, that’s ridiculous, E. I mean, I work with her, well, for her, and I, we’ve, been getting to know each other over the past few weeks, and, well, you asked about her, so I’m just telling you.”

“You just rambled again.”

“Whatever.”

“You did. You ramble when you’re like obsessed or nervous, or something”, Erin said. “You always have. Otherwise you’re usually composed, and you speak in proper English, like the smart nerd that you are.”

“Whatever”, Kelley said again. “I don’t have a crush on Hope. And even if I did, I mean, who doesn’t? She’s a rock star. Like, she’s got this like, magnetic personality and aura that just draws you in. You’ve never met a rock star, so you wouldn’t know, but um, they do, have that magnetic personality, and maybe that’s what I’m feeling…”

“I thought you just said she was like a normal person.”

“Well, she is just like a normal person, but she’s also a rock star with a magnetic personality.”

“So…which one do you have a crush on?”

“What?”

“Which one are you obsessed with? The rock star or the normal person?” Erin teased.

“I’m not obsessed with either. God, Erin…”

“Kelley…”

At that moment Kelley’s phone rang. “Whatever. I gotta go. Back to business.”

“Alrighty, lil’ sis. Have fun with your new…”normal” rock star girlfriend.

“Ugh. Leave me alone”, Kelley complained playfully.

“Bye Kel. Skype again soon. And get me an autograph”, Erin said with a grin.

“Bye E. Maybe”, Kelley said. Then she grinned back, signed off, and went back to work.

   
********  
 

A few days after Carli and Christine had left, the tour pulled into Minneapolis. The show wasn’t until tomorrow, so Hope had a night off. Kelley was in her hotel room when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it and there was Hope, standing there, looking incognito.

“Hey Hope”, Kelley said as she answered the door.

“Hey manager”, Hope said. She smiled, and Kelley felt her pulse quicken. By now she was used to being around Hope, but she always felt something, like her pulse start to race or her heart flutter a bit, whenever Hope smiled or winked at her, or when she caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume. “You want to go get some ice cream?”

“Um, well, that sounds good, but I have some work to take ca-“

“Kelley - it can wait”, Hope said lightly. “Remember? You have to eat.”

“Well, I already had dinner, and, I mean, I do love ice cream, but it’s not necessarily a cornerstone food group-“

“Yes it is”, Hope said and stared at Kelley with her captivating eyes. Kelley felt her knees go weak, and then Hope smiled and said, “C’mon. I want to get ice cream. I know the most awesome place here in town.” When Kelley didn’t say anything Hope said, “C’mon – let’s go out. It’ll be fun” Hope looked to the left and then to the right in exaggerated fashion. “Besides, the parents are gone. Don’t be such a lame-o.”

Kelley stared at Hope for a second and then smiled and said, “Parents…wait, aren’t you of that generation, too?”

“Whatever, junior”, Hope said playfully. “It’s not past your bedtime yet, is it?”

“Noooo”, Kelley, drawing out the word and scrunching up her face in mock offense.

“Then let’s go”, Hope said with a smile.

Kelley sighed in mock defeat, laughed lightly and then said, “Okay, I’m in.”

   
********  
 

Kelley called for a car and they rode to a small ice cream shop near downtown west. This time, Hope stayed in the car as Kelley got their ice cream, and then the car drove for a few blocks and dropped them off near the river.

“Mmmmm…this is amazing”, Kelley said, as they walked along the riverfront.

“I know, right?” Hope said. “It’s all handmade. They make their ice cream fresh every day. I’ve had lots of ice cream, and this is the best.”

“How did you find this place?”

“I played here years ago with a band who was from here. They showed it to me after our show. I love ice cream, and I fell in love with this place.”

“Do you come here a lot? I mean, I guess like, whenever you come into town to play?”

“I do, but unfortunately I don’t usually go into the shop anymore. It’s too bad, because the owner is really nice”, Hope said. There was a bit of melancholy in her voice. “In fact, I haven’t been in the shop since the second time I played here. The first time, I was still coming up, and no one recognized me. But the second time, it was crowded, and someone recognized me, and in an instant I was getting hounded for autographs and pictures. I was with Carli, and we grabbed our ice cream and ran for the car.”

‘Wow, that must have been…something”, Kelley said.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s weird. On the one hand, I like being stopped for autographs and pictures, in the sense that it means people like my music and support me, but, you know, there are times when it would be nice to be able to go somewhere and not be recognized.”

“I can see that”, Kelley said. “It must be hard to always have to dress incognito whenever you want to go out, like, not for an event or something.”

“It is”, Hope said. “I mean, like I said, it’s great that people support me, and I’ve gotten to do what I love for a living, which is play music, but it would be nice to be able to go out sometimes and be left alone. But, you know, it’s not really even the fans. I love the fact that they support me, even if I don’t necessarily enjoy being stopped for autographs and pictures all the time. It’s the media scrutiny. It’s like they’re always watching you. You always have to be ‘on’.”

Kelley was quiet for a moment and they asked, “Is there anywhere for you where you can go out and not be recognized?”

“Hawaii”, Hope said. “I go there on vacation sometimes. I have a little bungalow right on the beach on the east side of Kauai. I can go there and just relax and not be recognized, and I can walk around the town there, and even if people recognize me they treat me like I’m just a normal person.” Hope smiled and said, “It’s nice.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

“Kind of like right now”, Hope said.

“Huh?”

“Well, here we are, hanging out, and you’re treating me like a normal person.” Hope smiled at Kelley, and Kelley felt her pulse quicken. “I mean, you know who I am, and yet here we are – just two girls walking down the riverfront, eating ice cream. It’s nice.”

Kelley smiled back at Hope. She tried to think of something to say, but all she could come up with was, “Yeah, this is really nice.” They walked in silence for a bit, and Kelley stole a sideways glance at Hope. Was something happening, she wondered? Something maybe between us? Or was Hope just being friendly? Or maybe Hope is just kind of flirty. Rock stars often are, Kelley thought. They walked for a bit longer in silence as they finished their ice cream. Kelley took Hope’s empty cup and veered off the path for a moment to drop it into a trash can.

“So, how long have you known Carli?” Kelley asked, as she rejoined up with Hope.

“Like ten years”, Hope answered. “I met her when I was performing at an open mic in L.A. I had been a struggling musician for a couple years, and I guess she saw something in me. She was working at Capitol Records at the time, and she introduced me to the head of the label the week after we met, and that’s pretty much how I made it.

“Wow”, Kelley said. Hope was a real rags-to-riches story. “Well, she seems like a great person.”

“She is. I mean, she worries about me a lot, maybe sometimes too much, but it’s just ‘cause she cares. Plus, I pretty much owe her my career”, Hope said. She paused for a moment and then said, “And she’s a great friend.”

“That’s really cool”, Kelley said. “And how about your band mates? Are you good friends with all of them too?”

“Actually, not as much as you would think”, Hope said. “I mean, we’re all friends, but we’re musicians first. It’s a common misconception among the general public that band mates are all best friends”, Hope explained. “I guess if you start a band with your best friends and then you make it together, then you may be more likely to have best friends in the band you play in, provided that you all stay friends. But I met everyone in my band after I had already gotten signed, so it’s different. It’s more like being co-workers. Well, technically I’m their boss, but you know what I mean. It’s like having co-workers or employees that I like personally, but they’re co-workers nonetheless. You’ve probably noticed that we all don’t really hang out together that much.

It was true, Kelley thought. Outside of huddling up right before they hit the stage and then hanging out for an hour or so after a performance, the band members pretty much did their own thing. Out of everyone in the band Ashlyn and Ali seemed the closest, but Megan and Sydney were usually off on their own, or with their own friends.

“I mean, if you haven’t noticed, I spend most of my time with you”, Hope said, then smiled and bumped her shoulder lightly against Kelley’s. Kelley blushed a bit, then looked up at Hope and gave her a slight smile back.

“But, I do like all the girls”, Hope said. “Especially Megan. She cracks me up, with her rock n’ roll antics and all.”

Kelley laughed. “I know, right? Like how, after every show, she always grabs a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a groupie in the other and then heads for her dressing room?" Hope laughed lightly at the thought, and Kelley said, "Yeah she is a riot. And Sydney, too. She seems to like to party.”

“Yeah, Syd likes to party. And drink. Especially champagne. She has a thing for champagne. Not just for special occasions, either, but like, for all occasions”, Hope said, and Kelley laughed, thinking about all of the times and photos in which she’d seen Sydney straight up chugging bottles of champagne.

“She needs champagne like you need coffee, huh?”

Hope laughed. “Maybe more.”

“And what about Ashley and Ali?”

Hope smirked. “I think they’re seeing each other or something. They try to hide it, but when you’re around two people as often as I’m around them, you kind of pick up when something’s going on.”

“Yeah, I guess so”, Kelley said. 

They walked in silence for a minute and then Hope asked, “So, Kelley – are _you_ with anyone?”

The question caught Kelley by surprise and she stopped walking. She looked at Hope for a moment, unsure of what to say. Hope looked back at her and then laughed lightly. “ _With_ anyone? You know – dating anyone? Seeing anyone?”

“Um…”

“Sorry – didn’t mean to get too personal”, Hope said.

“No, no, no – it’s fine”, Kelley said, as they continued walking. “I guess, I just didn’t expect, uh, someone-“

Hope seemed to read her thoughts. “Someone like me, a Top 10 rock star to ask you something like that?”

“Yeah, something like that”, Kelley said and laughed a bit nervously.

“Kelley, we’ve been hanging out every day for like the past two weeks almost. Haven’t you figured it out by now? I’m just a normal girl, and that’s a totally normal question”, Hope said and smiled.

Kelley smiled back, and as she did, Hope put her arm around Kelley. Kelley couldn’t believe it. Hope Solo - the Hope Solo – had just put her arm around her. Kelley kept walking, still trying to process that, and then came back to the present when Hope asked, “So…? Are you seeing anyone? Or are you single?”

“No, I’m single”, Kelley said. “I mean, I’ve been on some dates here and there, but, well, nothing has ever developed into anything.”

“And why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s maybe just because I’m so busy. I mean, Abby always told me that you have to put everything else aside and be one hundred percent focused on your career if you want to make it in the music business.”

“Well, it is a tough business”, Hope agreed, “but still – we shouldn’t always be living just to work.”

Kelley contemplated that in silence for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I guess so”. She was silent for another moment and then said, “So…“

“So…what?”

Kelley laughed lightly. “Well, I was going to ask what about you? But, well, I know from your Wikipedia page”, Kelley said and slightly tucked into Hope’s side, “that you’re currently single.”

Hope laughed lightly as well. “Ah, yes…Wikipedia tells all. Actually, I do try to keep my personal life as private as I can. But yes, Wikipedia is correct on that. I am currently single.”

“And why haven’t you found anyone?” Kelley asked, looking at Hope. I mean, there can’t be a lack of suitors, right?”

Hope laughed again. “True, but it’s not about how many people you have after you. I mean, the truth is that it’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re on the road as much as I am. Two people have to spend time together to make a relationship work. That’s hard to do with anyone when you’re always out on tour.”

“I can see that”, Kelley said. “But I mean…what if that person was on the road with you?” Hope looked at Kelley and raised her eyebrow, and Kelley felt her face flush. “I mean, I’m just saying in general, like, not anyone in particular, you know…”

“You’re so cute when you’re flustered”, Hope said, then smiled at Kelley to put her at ease. Kelley smiled slightly, and then Hope followed up with, “Yeah, I guess that could work. I mean, I guess it really all comes down to finding the right person.”

Kelley was silent for a moment and then said, “Avril Lavigne wasn’t the right person, huh?” Hope looked at Kelley and Kelley said, “I mean, you _were_ with Avril for a while, right?”

“You definitely read my Wikipedia page”, Hope said and laughed. “Yes, Avril and I were together for almost a year.” Hope was silent for a moment and then said, “It was a long time ago. We were both pretty young, in our early twenties.”

“Back in the Stone Age?”

“Shush, junior”, Hope said and shot Kelley a playful sideways glare. “Wait, do we need to get back?”

“Huh?” Kelley said, and checked her phone. There were a bunch of missed calls and texts, and emails to return, but Hope had said that everything could wait, so for the last two hours Kelley had held to that. “No. I mean, I have to return some phone calls and texts and emails, but I thought you said everything could wait.”

“No, I mean, isn’t it past your bedtime? Junior?” Hope said and smirked.

Kelley stared at her playfully and then said, “Whatever, ass”, and elbowed Hope playfully in the side. Hope laughed and pulled her body away but kept her arm around Kelley, and as Hope and Kelley came back together, Kelley found her arm going around Hope’s waist. The two of them laughed together for a moment and then kept walking.

“So, why didn’t it work out with you and Avril?”

Hope thought for a moment and then said, “I think it was a number of things, but part of it was maybe because we just didn’t see each other enough. I mean, she’s a great girl, and we’re friends now, and of course the media was all over our relationship, like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread-”

“Yeah, I remember reading all about it”, Kelley said. “You guys were like the hot ‘it’ couple for a while there.”

“Yeah, I guess so”, Hope said. “And I think Avril also thought it was cool, to have two rock chicks together. But, really, when it came down to it, she just wasn’t the right person for me.”

“Yeah”, Kelley said, absently. “And…anyone since?”

“No. I mean, like you, I’ve been on a bunch of dates, but nothing’s ever really happened.” Hope looked at Kelley and then said, “And just to let you know, I’m not really someone who looks for hookups.” Kelley looked back at Hope, and Hope said, “I know – how un-rock n’ roll, huh?” Hope said and laughed lightly.

“No, that’s…a good thing. I don’t either”, Kelley said. She looked at Hope and smiled slightly, and Hope smiled slightly back. They continued to walk along the riverfront, Hope’s arm around Kelley’s shoulder, Kelley’s arm around Hope’s waist. They walked for a few minutes in silence and then stopped at an alcove where the riverfront walk jutted out over the river. The lights of Minneapolis at night danced on the water. The stars were out, and the moon shone bright in the sky.  
“This is so nice down here”, Hope said. “I love how the lights play off the water.”

“Yeah, they look great.” Kelley said out loud, but in her mind she was trying to process what was happening. Here she was, Hope Solo had her arm around her, and she had her arm around Hope. Was this really happening? Two weeks ago I was a junior manager. Now I’m managing one of the biggest rock stars in the world, and if that wasn’t enough, tonight, it was almost like…kind of felt like…sort of like…a date. Kelley’s mind ran a million miles a minute as she tried to sort out what was happening and what she was feeling, but it came back to two thoughts. The first: she was pretty sure she had a crush on Hope Solo. But then again, who didn’t? I’m sure I’m not the only one, Kelley thought. Me and millions of other people around the world. But, I am the only one whose arm is currently wrapped around Hope, and whose arm is currently wrapped around me.

The second thought? Abby, talking to her from her hospital bed:

Don’t get involved with Hope.


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey Car”, Hope said into her phone.

“How’s it going, Solo?”

“Good. We’re on our way to Dallas right now. Kelley got your email by the way.”

“Yeah, good. I set up a promo appearance for you for tomorrow night at the Anti-Cruelty Society’s annual gala. It’s a typical fundraiser. You know the drill. I mean, obviously they want to raise money, and obviously it helps to have celebrities involved, but they're especially excited to have you there because they know you support the cause.”

“Of course. You know I’m always all for that kind of stuff.”

“Good. How’s Kelley doing, by the way?”

“Really good, actually. I mean, things seem to be going smoothly, and I guess she’s been checking in with Christine on a daily basis.”

“Well that’s good. And how are you holding up?”

“Good. Um, well, really good, actually.”

“Really? Well that’s good to hear. I know you weren’t really feeling fully recharged at the start of the tour.” Carli was silent for a moment and then said, “Anything in particular helping out?”

“Honestly, Car? A lot of it has been Kelley.”

“Well that’s good. I mean, I was nervous about her being up to the task, but I’m glad she’s doing a good job running the tour.”

“Well, yeah, it’s that, but she’s also been good company.”

Carli was silent for a moment and then said, “Okay…like, how?”

“Well, we’ve been hanging out, going out together for like food and coffee…and ice cream. You know.”

“Uh, okay. That’s cool. I mean, are you guys like BFFs now, or what’s going on?”

“No. I mean, I don’t know. She’s just really cool to hang out with.”

“Well, that’s good.” Carli was silent for a moment and then said, “But, I mean, most importantly, she’s your manager, not your best friend. You already have one of those”, she said and laughed.

“I know”, Hope said and laughed as well. “Don’t worry – I have no plans to replace you, Car.”

“I’m not worried, Solo. I just want to make sure that Kelley is, you know…doing her job. You and a lot of people depend on her. Friends is friends, but business is, well…business.”

“Car – I get it. We’re all good. I mean, she’s doing a good job, and, well…I guess it’s just a bonus to have someone that I like around to keep me company. I mean, she’s just really cool to be around. We talk. We laugh. We eat. Everything is low key. It feels like, being…well, normal.” Hope was silent for a moment and then said, “You know, it was like, with Avril, everything was always ‘big’. Like, she had to always make a spectacle out of everything. Our dates, our outings, even like going shopping, or to the beach, anything. Our whole relationship, really. Every time we went out she would tell everyone, and the media would be there, snapping photos, bombarding us with questions. I just couldn’t get away. With Kelley, it’s different. Like, we just get to be ourselves. 

“Hope - are you comparing Avril to Kelley? Because one was your girlfriend, and the other is your manager”, Carli said and then paused. “Wait a minute…are you telling me that-“

“No, no, Car… I mean, I like her, and she’s really cute, with her freckles and all, but…well, really, we just…hang out and talk.”

“She’s ‘cute, with her freckles and all’?” Carli said, repeating Hope.

“Car…” Hope said quickly, taking on a bit of a guarded tone.

“Hey – it’s cool”, Carli said. Hope’s quick and somewhat defensive answer had been noted. “You don’t need to justify anything to me. I’m just asking. If you like hanging out with her, then great. You know I don’t care who you hang with….or who you end up with.”

“Car…”

“Solo – it’s all good. You know I’ll support you in whoever you choose to…uh, hang with. I’m totally cool with you and Kelley being…whatever together, as long as she does a good job as your manager, and any personal relationship you guys have doesn’t get in the way of business. I mean, I even supported your relationship with Avril, even though I never thought you two were right together.”

“I know, and I always appreciated that”, Hope said. “But…you don’t need to worry about me, at least like, how operations are going. I mean, you’re not acting as my manager anymore.”

“I know I’m not your manager anymore, but I worry about you anyway. Someone’s got to”, Carli said lightly, and Hope laughed. “Look – you know I support you in whatever you do. But I also got your back, and I’m just saying, business is business…”

   
********  
 

The Anti Cruelty Society Gala was being held just a couple miles from the hotel, in downtown Dallas. Kelley checked her appearance one last time in the mirror: moderately conservative black cocktail dress, black suede heels, small dangly earrings, and a black Coach hand purse. She smiled, then exhaled a deep breath and exited her room. She walked to the next room and knocked on the door. Hope opened the door, looking stunning – fancy evening dress with a slightly rocker-ish cut, a dark red wrap, her long, dark hair flowing straight, open-toe black high heels, gold earrings and a gold necklace that looked like it cost a small fortune. Her makeup was done up so as to fall somewhere between being out for an evening at a gala and for being onstage. It highlighting her brilliant, intense eyes, and her jawline, the jawline that conventional modeling would call slightly too severe, actually accentuated her goddess-like appearance. She was the perfect balance of classy and rocker. Kelley felt her pulse quicken and was sure that her own jaw had just drop a bit.  
“Hey manager”, Hope said and smiled.

“Heyyyy”, Kelley breathed out. She paused for a moment and then said, “You look…dazzling.”

“Dazzling?” Hope repeated Kelley. “That’s a fancy college word”, she teased. She saw Kelley blush a bit, and she laughed lightly. “Thank you. You look lovely yourself”, Hope said, giving Kelley the once-over. Then she reached up with her right hand and fingered Kelley’s left earring. “I like these”, Hope said.  
“Thank you”, Kelley said, still flushed a bit but calming herself down. “I’m glad you like them. I mean, it’s not…” Kelley said as she gestured to Hope’s outfit, “but it’s the best I got.”

“It’s working for me”, Hope said, a twinkle in her eye.

Kelley let out a small, nervous laugh and then said, “So, um…are you ready? The car’s waiting downstairs.”

“I’m ready”, Hope said, flashing her radiant smile. She exited her room and closed the door, then held her arm out for Kelley. “Take my arm?”

Kelley paused. “Is that okay? I mean, won’t there be, like cameras and people and stuff everywhere?”

“Well, yes – at the event. I’m saying just take my arm to the car?”

Kelley looked at Hope’s arm, noticing how sculpted her bicep muscles were, and then smiled and took it. “Of course”, she said, and the two of them strode down to the waiting car.  
 

********  
 

Hope shined at the event. After her speech the entire room stood up and applauded. Hope looked radiant, standing on the stage, beaming for the cameras. Afterwards, Hope worked the room with Kelley by her side, stopping to shake hands and give out hugs. Kelley remained with her, shaking hands as well, trying to remember everyone’s name and what they did. She couldn’t recall ever having met so many people at one time, and her face hurt from smiling the whole night. She enjoyed the event overall, but it was exhausting, and she could see how having to be ‘on’ like this all the time could wear someone down.

Hope and Kelley left the event a bit before 11pm. Since they were already out, Kelley had asked Hope if she felt like staying out, maybe trying to join up with her band mates at whatever club they were at or maybe getting some dinner or even ice cream, but Hope said she’d rather just head back to the hotel. The car dropped them off in front, and Hope and Kelley made their way up to their rooms.

“How are you feeling?” Kelley asked as they reached their rooms. “Tired?”

“A little”, Hope answered. “But not really sleepy. I more so just wanted to leave the gala and come back to chill out here. A few hours at one of those things is enough for me”, she said with a slight smile.

“I hear ya”, Kelley said. “It was exhausting, having to be ‘on’ the whole time.”

“And that was just a few hours”, Hope said. “Try being ‘on’ for ten years.”

Kelley laughed. “I can’t imagine.”

Hope looked at Kelley laughing and for a moment got lost in the way Kelley’s freckles kind of lit up as she laughed. Then she asked, “Hey, do you feel like watching TV or a movie maybe?”

Kelley paused for a second. This wasn’t the first time that she and Hope had watched TV or a movie together, but given the fact that they would be starting so late, and for some reason the fact that they were dressed up, plus the way Hope had told her she looked lovely and then fingered her earring earlier in the night, made the situation feel a bit different. “Um, yeah sure”, she said.

“Cool”, Hope said as she slid her key card into her door lock. “Come on in”, she said.

“Um…should I change first?” Kelley half-said, half-asked.

“You can change later”, Hope said. She looked Kelley up and down again. “That’s a really nice dress. You should stay in it a bit longer”, she said and smiled.

Kelley stared at Hope, not sure what to say. Did Hope just hit on me? she thought. Or maybe she’s just being friendly. Either way, I’m not quite sure how to respond, Kelley thought. Then she thought, oh well, does it really matter? Hope Solo, Top 10 rock star, and also my client, just complimented me, and is asking me to hang out. Then Kelley smiled and said, “Thanks”, and followed Hope into Hope’s room.

   
********  
 

“So, what kind of movie do you want to watch?” Kelley asked. She kicked off her heels, turned on the TV, and started scrolled through the hundreds of channels.

“I don’t care”, Hope answered as she opened the mini bar fridge and pulled out two beers. “You pick it. As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with the music industry.”

“Okay”, Kelley said, but right as she did, she came across Almost Famous. “Oh, Hope – how about Almost Famous?”

Hope turned her head towards Kelley and shot her a stare. “Kelley – I just said nothing in the music industry”, she chided lightly.

“But I love this movie”, Kelley said.

“Well, it is a good movie”, Hope agreed. “But still…”

Kelley looked at Hope for a moment and then shrunk her shoulders up and batted her eyelashes. “Pleeeeeeease, Hope…?”

Hope stared at her for a second and then laughed, relenting. “Okay, fine. But the next movie we watch – I get to pick.”

“Deal”, Kelley said. She sat down on the couch and started the movie. Hope turned down the lights and handed Kelley a beer and then sat down on the couch. It was a pretty big couch, but they both maneuvered for the first couple of minutes, trying to get comfortable. They settled into position, but about fifteen minutes into the movie Kelley, who was still in her little cocktail dress, said, “I’m kinda chilly.”

“Oh, here, let me get a blanket”, Hope said. She stood up, walked to her bed and took off the comforter. She brought it back to the couch and spread it out over Kelley.

“Thanks”, Kelley said.

“You’re welcome. Sorry about that”, Hope apologized. “I like A/C. I’m from the Pacific Northwest. We like our cool weather up there”, she said with a smile.  
Kelley smiled back. Hope got lost in her freckles for a moment again and then turned back to the screen. They continued to watch the movie, and then Kelley looked over at Hope and noticed that Hope’s arm had goose bumps on it. She stared at Hope’s arm for a moment, marveling at the sculpted muscles, and then asked Hope, “Hey, are you cold?”

Hope looked at Kelley. She saw Kelley looking at her, and then Kelley looked down at Hope’s arm. Hope looked down at her own arm and noticed the goose bumps. “Yeah, I guess I am”, she said, and it was then that she noticed that she was still in just her evening dress, without the wrap that she had taken off when they came into the room.

“Here – we can share the comforter”, Kelley said. She scooted closer to the middle of the couch and held up the side of the comforter closest to Hope. Hope took it and crawled under, scooting closer to Kelley.

Somewhere during the movie, Kelley noticed that her thigh and Hope’s thigh were touching. She looked over at Hope and smiled shyly, and Hope mouthed they word "hey". Sometime later during the movie, Kelley had realized that Hope had fallen asleep, her head resting on Kelley’s shoulder.

   
********  
 

“Hope”, Kelley whispered as she turned off the TV. “The movie’s over.”

“Huh”, Hope mumbled, sleepy.

“Want to sleep here on the couch, or want me to tuck you into bed? Old lady.”

Hope opened her eyes a bit. “Careful”, she said, still mumbling but smiled sleepily. “I’ll kick you out.”

“If you did that, I would just go next door”, Kelley said with a smirk.

“Noooo”, Hope said. She closed her eyes and held out her arms.

“Okay, here we go”, Kelley said, as she helped Hope up off the couch. “Let’s get you to bed.” As she stood Hope up, Kelley grazed her fingertips down Hope’s arm, then slowly guided her to the bed. She laid Hope down in the bed and then went back to the couch to get the comforter. As she brought it to the bed to spread it over Hope, Hope reached out and grabbed her arm lightly.

“Sleep with me”, Hope mumbled.

“What?”

“Sleep here tonight, in this bed, with me. Keep your old lady company, junior.”

"That sounds kinda creepy", Kelley said, but smiling as she did. She stood still for a moment, trying to process what was happening right now, and then her mind jumped back to earlier in the evening, Hope fingering her earring, and then her taking Hope’s arm earlier as they left for the event. Then she saw Hope smile sleepily and extend both of her arms, and in that moment, Kelley made up her mind.

“Of course”, she said and smiled back. She turned off the light and then crawled into bed and pulled the comforter over her and Hope. Hope mumbled a contented sound and shifted a bit onto her back, and then she felt Kelley tuck into her and Kelley’s head nestle into the crook of her neck. Hope’s arm went around Kelley, and she put her hand on the small of Kelley’s back.

“Thanks for a lovely evening”, Hope whispered into the top of Kelley’s head.

“Mmmhmm. Thank you”, Kelley whispered back. She exhaled a deep breath, and all of sudden the day and evening caught up to her, and she felt incredibly sleepy. At the same moment, she caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume, and she thought – there’s no other place in the world I would rather be right now, curled into Hope’s side, with Hope’s sculpted arm around my back.

Hope, although still sleepy, had woken up enough to process one thought – that it was so nice to be snuggled up right now with Kelley O’Hara. It felt good to have a normal night, cuddling and watching a movie. It reminded her of when she and her friend Whitney would have sleepovers and stay up and watch movies when they were younger. Then, as she started to fall back asleep, she had another thought: it actually felt more like the odd night when Avril didn’t feel like going out and partying, and they would actually have a night in, and they would cuddle up together and watch a movie. Yes, that's more what tonight felt like, Hope thought. She liked being around Kelley. In fact, she liked a lot about Kelley. Kelley was cute, smart, kind, and funny. She had just the right amount of sass and silly. And definitely the right amount of freckles. And she gets me, Hope thought. Then, as she drifted into dreamland, Hope mused: is it possible that I’m starting to like Kelley?

Kelley was tired, but she couldn’t quite turn her brain off. She couldn’t believe she was cuddled up in bed with Hope Solo. The one and only Hope Solo. Why me? Kelley thought, and in a good way. I mean, she could have anyone. Out of all what – seven billion people on earth, I’m the one who gets to cuddle up next to Hope Solo tonight. Kelley heard Hope’s breathing become rhythmic, and she thought: yes, I’m pretty sure I’m beyond just having a crush now. She held onto that thought as she started to drift off to sleep, and she smiled in the darkness as she felt Hope’s steady breath brush across the top of her head.


	8. Chapter 8

Kelley’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment she couldn’t remember where she was, and then it came to her: she was in Hope's bed, still wearing her black cocktail dress from the night before. Hope had asked her to sleep in her room. With her. She had fallen asleep with her head nestled into the crook of Hope’s neck. Sometime during the night they had shifted positions, and now she was lying on her side, her back tucked into Hope’s front, with Hope’s arms around her. Kelley’s mind started to wander to thoughts about what she was feeling and what was happening, but she was still groggy from just waking up, so she pushed those aside, closed her eyes and smiled contently. She laid there in Hope’s arms for a few minutes and then she felt Hope stir. Kelley tilted her head back and opened her eyes. A stay piece of Hope’s hair brushed across her face and she smiled.

“Hey”, Hope whispered sleepily, her eyes fluttering halfway open.

“Good morning sleepyhead”, Kelley whispered back. She heard Hope let out a sleepy “Mmmmm”, and then ask “How’d you sleep?”

Hope was silent for a moment and then said, “Good. Really good, actually. The best I’ve slept in a while.” She looked at Kelley with heavy-lidded eyes and smiled.

Kelley smiled back, her eyes still sleepy too, and said, “Good. Me too.” She turned her head back, put her arms over Hope’s and laid there for another minute.

“It’s nice having you in my bed”, Hope purred.

Kelley tilted her head back and smiled at Hope. “Yeah”, she breathed out. “It is nice. I slept well, too.” She laid silent for a moment and then asked, “What time is it?”

Hope looked over at the clock on the night stand. “A bit after ten.”

Kelley exhaled. She wanted to stay right as they were, spooning together in bed, with Hope’s arms wrapped around her, but she needed to get her day started. They had a show tonight, and there was a radio interview in the afternoon. “I guess I should get moving”, she said, as she started to get up.

“Noooo”, Hope whined playfully and tightened her arms around Kelley. She burrowed her face into Kelley’s hair and squeezed her lightly. Kelley giggled, and Hope closed her eyes and smiled into the back of her head.

“C’mon, rock star”, Kelley said. “Your manager needs to manage you.”

Hope held Kelley tight for another moment and then said, “Ugh. Fine”, with feigned annoyance. She loosened her arms around Kelley but kept her in place. “Let’s have breakfast together at least. We can order room service.”

Kelley tilted her head back towards Hope and said, “Mmmm…breakfast does sound good, but I should get working.”

Hope looked at Kelley for a moment and then smiled. “Hey – everything can wait for a bit. You have to eat, right?” she said, and then touched Kelley’s nose lightly with her finger.

   
********  
 

Something has changed, Kelley thought, as the tour made its way through Texas, New Orleans and Little Rock, and then headed north through the eastern Midwest and towards the East Coast. She and Hope continued to spend most of their time together, but something was different now. There was an undertone of something - dare Kelley say - romantic between them? She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what she was feeling or why, but sometime around or after the first night Kelley had slept in Hope’s room, something had changed. Sometimes their time together was spent doing business – radio interviews, promo appearances, and the moments before and after Hope’s performances. And sometimes they didn’t get to spend time together, separated by circumstance – Kelley would attend a business meeting while Hope would rehearse with the band or remain at the hotel. Oftentimes, however, they managed to squeeze in a few hours of alone time together, either doing one of their daytime forays for food or coffee with Hope incognito, or together in Hope’s hotel room in the afternoon. Hope had started to forgo her afternoon alone time so she and Kelley could maximize their free time together. At nights, if there was no show, they would sometimes slip out for a quick meal or ice cream, or would stay in Hope’s hotel room, order room service and watch a movie. Almost always Kelley would sleep over, in Hope’s bed. Nothing had happened – yet. But mornings would find them intertwined, either Hope on her back and Kelley nestled into her, Kelley’s head in the crook of Hope’s neck, or Hope spooning Kelley from behind, nestling Kelley in her arms.

The tour arrived in New York City. Kelley was returning from the meeting with the production manager at Madison Square Garden, where Hope was performing the next night. She was in the car on her laptop when Hope called.

“Hi manager”, Hope said flirtatiously into the phone.

Kelley smiled. “Hi rock star.”

“So, I was thinking we could get dinner tonight.”

“Okay. I mean, don’t we usually eat together?”

“Well, yes, but I want to go out.”

“Well, we can slip out for some food.”

“No, I mean like go out out. Like, have a real dinner out together, not sneak out with me incognito.”

“Uh…okay”, Kelley said. She and Hope often ate together at night, but there was something in Hope’s ask that made this feel different, and she wasn’t sure where this was going.

“I know a great Italian place here. It’s the best food in the city", Hope said, and Kelley could hear the excitement in her voice.

Kelley was silent for a minute, thinking about how this felt different, and then she said, “Okay, sounds good. I love Italian.”

“Then you’ll love this place”, Hope said, and Kelley could tell through the phone that Hope was smiling. “I’ll come get you at seven.”

“Okay. Or, just call me when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll call for a car.”

“No”, Hope said. “Not tonight. Tonight, I want to come pick you up.”

“Uh…okay”, Kelley said again. Now she was really trying to figure out what Hope was up to. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call the car?”

“No, I'll do that”, Hope said. “Just be ready at seven.”

Kelley was silent for a moment and then said, “Okay. I’ll be ready at seven.”

“Good”, Hope said. “And Kelley?”

“Yeah?”

“Wear something nice.”

“Uh…okay.”

Hope hung up, and Kelley smiled into the phone.

   
********  
 

Kelley finished putting on her lipstick, then dabbed on her scent and checked herself in the mirror one last time. After trying on three different outfits she had settled on a green-themed floral pattern dress and a pair of black strap heals. She felt nervous. Was this a date? She thought. She couldn’t quite figure out what Hope was up to tonight, but she was pretty sure there was something happening between them that was more than friends. She did one last half-turn in the mirror, then grabbed her hand purse and phone. Out of habit she started to call for a car but then remembered that Hope had said she would do that, so she sat down in a chair at the small table in her room and waited.

Right at seven, there was a knock on her door. Kelley opened it, and there was Hope. She was wearing a stylish black evening top, a wide black leather belt, black dress pants, and black heels. Her hair was styled in a slight wave.

“Hi”, Hope said. She gave the Kelley the once-over, then smiled appreciatively, and Kelley’s heart skipped a beat.

“Hi”, Kelley said back. She stood there for a moment and then said, “Wow. You look…”

“I clean up okay, huh?” Hope said and laughed. “You look wonderful yourself.” She eyed Kelley again and then said, “C’mon, cutie – let’s go.” She held her arm out for Kelley to take, and the two of them walked down to the car.

   
********  
 

“So, how did you find this place?” Kelley asked, as they were seated at a table near the back of the restaurant. Hope ordered them a bottle of wine.

“I came here with some of the folks from the record label the last time I was here in New York”, Hope said. “I like this place a lot. The food is wonderful, and it’s kind of off the beaten path.” The restaurant was on the upper west side, nestled among apartment buildings and a couple convenience stores. Tonight there were only a few other tables occupied.

“Yeah. It looks really nice”, Kelley said, looking around. The restaurant was dimly lit, with dark oak walls and red curtains. There were large white tablecloths, candles on the tables. “So, um…” Kelley began but then let it hang.

“Yes?”

“Well, I’m just curious…I mean, you…asked me to dress up, and, well, you look…and, well, nice restaurant, bottle of wine, and well, you like picked me up and called for the car…

“Kelley…is there something you’re trying to ask me?”

“Well, um…I guess I’ve been wondering…I mean, we’ve been hanging out a lot lately, and, well, I’ve been sleeping over a lot…I mean, it’s not like a sleepover, because it’s not like your house, but I mean, like, in your room, and then we’ve been, you know, snuggling a lot, like when we go to sleep, or watch a movie on the couch, and, well-” Kelley looked at Hope, who was looking right back at her, and she realized she was rambling. Hope laughed softly, here eyes twinkling at Kelley.

“Kelley, you’re rambling”, Hope said, a smile forming on her lips.

“No, I’m not. I mean-“

Hope laughed lightly. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

“I'm not flustered. Well, not really. Well, maybe sorta, I guess. I mean, I’m just wondering, what, um…”

“What the deal is with this dinner?” Hope completed Kelley’s thought. “Kelley - we’ve been on the road for six weeks. Can’t I take my manager out for a nice dinner once in a while?”

“Well, sure, I mean, yeah”, Kelley said. She was a bit disappointed. She was hoping that Hope would say something to affirm that this was more than just a professional dinner between manager and client.

Hope took a sip of wine and then gazed over the candle at Kelley. “Kelley – is there something you want to ask me?” Hope repeated.

Kelley looked at Hope and then looked down. She bit her lip and then looked back up. “Hope – is this a date?”

Hope looked back at Kelley. “Do you want it to be?” she asked in her smooth voice.

“Um…I don’t know – maybe?” Kelley said. Hope’s eyes twinkled back at her and Kelley said, “Yes? I don’t know. Do you? I mean, is this a date, like was that your intention when you asked me to dinner tonight?”

“Hmmmm…I don’t know, Kelley. Let’s see: I planned ahead and asked you out for dinner. I told you to wear something nice. I called for the car, which is something I never do, and then I picked you up, even though I only had to walk to the next room over, and now we’re here”, Hope said. “Candlelight, wine, intimate table, dark wood walls.” She looked at Kelley. Kelley looked back, not saying anything, and then Hope laughed lightly. “Yes, Kelley – I wanted to take a girl that I kinda sorta like out on a date.” She looked at Kelley and smiled. “I hope that’s okay?” she asked, in a way that indicated she already knew the answer.

Kelley exhaled and smiled. Yes, this was more than okay. In fact, a part of Kelley wanted this very much. A part of her also had Abby’s warning in the back of her mind, but at this moment, being with Hope was winning out. She smirked and said, “You kinda sorta like me?”

“Yeah, I kinda sorta do”, Hope answered with a smile.

Kelley exhaled and smiled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hope Solo, Top 10 rock icon, ‘kinda sorta’ liked her, and asked her out on a date. Her thoughts started to spin, but she kept her head under control and tried to focus on being in the moment. “Yeah”, she breathed out. “This is…really nice.” She smiled at Hope, and then said, “Thanks for taking me out tonight.” She looked down and then looked back up and said, “I kinda sort like you too”.

Hope smiled back. Then she looked down at the table, found Kelley’s hand and grabbed it lightly. She slid her hand underneath Kelley’s and then turned it so they were palm-to-palm, and then she rubbed her thumb lightly on the top of Kelley’s hand.  
 

********  
 

“So, what did you think?” Hope asked as they made to leave the restaurant.

“It was wonderful”, Kelley said. “Thank you again.”

“You’re most welcome.” Hope said. They reached the front door, and Hope said, “I just texted the driver. He should be pulling up in a minute.” She looked at Kelley and then reached out her hand. Kelley paused, but then Hope smiled her brilliant smile and wiggled her fingers. Kelley smiled back and took Hope’s hand. Then the maître D opened the front door for them. They stepped outside and headed for the approaching car when seemingly from out of nowhere they were hit with a barrage of flash bulbs and chattering voices. Kelley froze and then realized that the paparazzi had just descended upon them. About fifteen reporters and photographers surrounded them and immediately opened fire.

“Hope! What’s going on here?”

“Hope! Is this your new girlfriend?”

“Hope! Isn’t this your new manager?”

“Kelley! How does it feel to be dating Hope Solo?”

“Oh my God…” Kelley breathed out, overcome by the onslaught of people. She raised her hand and shielded her eyes from the cameras. Hope stared for a moment but immediately put on her smile. She waved to the mob without saying anything. 

“Hope! Hope! Kelley! Hope! Kelley!...” The barrage continued. Hope lead them towards the car. “C’mon Kelley!” she said, pulling Kelley by the hand. The driver opened the door. Hope ushered Kelley in first and then waved to the mob again and then got in and shut the door.

“Are you okay”, she asked Kelley as the car started to drive off.

“Oh my God”, Kelley said. She had seen this before but had never been on the receiving end of it.

“Yeah”, Hope said. “It’s a little jarring at first. It takes some getting used to.” She looked at Kelley, who was visibly shaken and still trying to come down, and she scooted closer to Kelley. She put one arm around Kelley and took her hand with the other. “It’s okay”, Hope said.

Kelley sat there, still stunned. A part of her was still a bit shaken by the unexpected onslaught, but a part of her was also worried about what would happen next. She knew that the photos would come up soon, and that folks at her work would see them. “Oh, man”, she said, as she tucked herself against Hope and nestled her head into Hope’s shoulder.

“It’s okay”, Hope said again. She stroked Kelley’s hair, and felt Kelley calm down. They stayed like that for a moment and then the driver said, “Where to, ladies?”  
“Hope looked at Kelley. “Well? Had enough excitement for one night? Do you feel like going back to the hotel?” When Kelley didn’t say anything, Hope smiled and then said in a jesting tone, “Is it past your bedtime, junior?”

At that Kelley scrunched up her face in mock offense and stuck out her tongue at Hope. “No", she said. "Is it past your bedtime, grandma?

Hope laughed. She had succeeded in lightening Kelley’s mood and getting her to relax. “Well, if you’re up for it, there’s somewhere I’d like to take you.”

“Are we going to get bombarded?” Kelley asked.

“No” Hope said and laughed quietly. “At least I don’t think so.”

“Okay”, Kelley said and exhaled. She was coming down from the initial shock and feeling better. The experience hadn’t been really traumatic, just unexpected. Hope was right though, Kelley thought: the average person has no idea what it’s like to be in the limelight.

“Okay then, let's go”, Hope said and smiled.

   
********  
 

The car dropped them off at the west end of Central Park. Hope got out of the car and Helped Kelley out, then kept her hand as they began to stroll through the park. The night lights on the path lit their way. They walked for a bit in silence and then stopped at a pond in the center of the park. They stood there, side by side for a moment, and then Hope moved behind Kelley. She wrapped her arms around Kelley and nuzzled her face into Kelley’s hair.

“Hey”, Hope said.

“Hey”, Kelley said back. She put her arms over Hope’s and gave them a light squeeze.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better now.”

“It’s kind of jarring, getting bombarded like that, huh?"

“Yeah.”

"Hopefully that doesn't happen again to you, or at least doesn't happen much."

Kelley looked at Hope and smiled. Then she looked away and around the park and then said, “I’ve never been here before. This is really nice.”

"You've never been to Central Park?"

"No", Kelley said. "Some of us don't get to go everywhere, like the rich and famous."

Hope smirked and let out a small laugh. "Whatever, ass", she said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “This is one of my favorite places to visit. I love it here.”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful. And quiet”, Kelley said. After the paparazzi attack earlier, the quiet was greatly appreciated. They were silent for a moment and then she said, “It must be really cool to visit so many great places. I mean, you’ve been everywhere."

“True” Hope said, “but I don’t always get to experience things. Sometimes the schedule is so hectic that I don’t see much more than the venue, the hotel and wherever I end up doing media events.” She paused for a moment and then said, “It’s nice to just do things like this. It makes me feel like I get to enjoy my travel like a normal person.”

“Yeah”, Kelley said. “I guess it can be kind of weird to be so many places but not really get to actually see any of them.”

“It is”, Hope said. “And I do love New York”, Hope said absently. “It’s a great city. Except for the weather, especially in the winter. I guess that’s one of the benefits of L.A. I mean, there are some things I’m not fond of there, but you can’t beat it for the weather.”

“Yeah, the weather is nice there”, Kelley agreed. “I miss the change of the seasons a bit, though”, she said. “I mean, we don’t get much snow in Georgia, but sometimes we do, and sometimes I would like to have a white Christmas.” She paused and then said, “Do you like snow? I mean, did you get snow up in Washington, where you grew up?”

“A little bit, sometimes”, Hope answered. “And I guess I don’t really miss snow too much, but if I’m feeling like I do, like if I want a white Christmas, I go up to Big Bear.” Hope paused for a moment and then said, “Have you ever been?”

“To Big Bear? No,” Kelley answered.

“I have a small cabin up there. Maybe I’ll take you sometime.”

Kelley tilted her head back and smiled. “Sounds cozy", she said, imagining cuddling with Hope on a well-cushioned couch, fleece blanket covering them, a fire cracking in the fireplace, snow falling outside. "That would be nice”, she said softly. Hope smiled back at her.

They were silent for a moment. Kelley tilted her head towards the front. Then Hope said, “I’m glad we’re work together.”

“Me too”, Kelley said.

“You know, it’s tragic what happened to Abby. But I guess if there’s any good that came out of that, it’s that I got to meet you.”

“Well, I met you anyway. At the store. In the produce section. Where all good things happen.”

“Yeah, I know. What I mean is, it gave us the opportunity to work together, and get to know one another.”

“Yeah, it did”, Kelley agreed.

Hope took a deep breath and then turned Kelley around. She looked at Kelley with intense eyes. “I’m glad you’re here”, she said.

“Me too”, Kelley said, looking back into Hope’s eyes. Hope’s arms were still around her waist. She took her hands and rubbed them against Hope’s arms. Then she looked down. “I like your arms”, she breathed into Hope’s chest.

Hope smiled and then said, “Hey”. Kelley looked up, and Hope said, “I like your freckles.”

Kelley smiled. Then she titled her head up, put her arms around Hope’s neck, and planted a big-girl kiss on Hope’s lips.


	9. Chapter 9

“Hey Abby”, Kelley said as she answered the call. She was in the tour bus, on her way to Boston. Hope had a show in the evening.

“Kelley – I saw you on TMZ”, Abby said, getting right to it. “You and Hope were out to dinner?”

Kelley thought for a moment and then thought, oh shit. “Oh, yeah. We were leaving this restaurant, and the paparazzi came out of nowhere.”

“What were you guys doing, going out to dinner, just the two of you, at a nice restaurant like that?” Abby asked.

“N-n-nothing. I mean, Hope wanted to go, and it’s like her favorite place in New York, and, well, Christine told me that there would be times when Hope would want to go out to eat and stuff and not always have to order room service or eat at the venue, so, I just thought-“ Kelley started rambling, but Abby cut her off.

“Is there something going on between you two?” Abby asked, getting to the point of her call.

“What?” Kelley said. “No! I mean, she’s been really cool, and we’re getting along well, and, um, well, we seem to have a good working relationship, so…but um, no, we’re not like together or anything…” Kelley drifted off. After last night’s kiss, she wasn’t sure what was happening between her and Hope, but she didn’t want to tell Abby anything.

“Okay”, Abby said. “Remember what I told you about relationships between clients and managers.”

“Right – don’t get involved with Hope”, Kelley said.

“That’s right”, Abby said and then paused for a moment to let that sink in. Then she asked, “How’s everything else going?”

“Good. Everything else is good”, Kelley said quickly, wanting to get off the phone as soon as possible.

“Okay, good. Call me if you need anything”, Abby said, then hung up.

   
********  
 

“How'd I do?” Hope asked as she and then band stepped off stage. They had just finished playing to sold-out crowd at the Garden in Boston.

Kelley walked up to Hope and started to reach her arms around Hope’s neck to pull her in for a kiss, then remembered that they weren’t alone and stopped herself. She stopped six inches from Hope and smiled. “You were…amazing”, she breathed out.

Hope smiled back and started into Kelley’s eyes. She received compliments all the time, but for some reason it meant more coming from Kelley then from anyone else. “Thank you, manager”, she said flirtatiously.

“So…you need a few minutes alone in the dressing room?” Kelley asked.

“I could use a few minutes in the dressing room…but not alone”, Hope said and smiled.

Kelley smiled back. “Okay, let’s go.” She turned around and led Hope down the hallway through the mob of people waiting to talk with her. She saw Syd holding court with a bunch of people, alternating between talking and chugging a bottle of champagne. Megan, a bottle of Jameson and a tall brunette headed into Megan’s dressing room. Ali and Ashlyn ducked into Ashlyn’s dressing room. Kelley laughed and shook her head at the whole spectacle as she and Hope made their way to Hope’s dressing room. Kelley ushered Hope in and then shut the door. “So, do you want something to drink or-“ Kelley started to ask, but before she could get the full question out, Hope was on her. She grabbed Kelley’s cheeks and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Kelley wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck and opened her mouth to accept Hope’s eager tongue. They stayed locked like that for a minute, and then Hope picked Kelley up and then lowered her onto the couch, still locked in their kiss.  
 

********  
 

“C’mon, go fix us some drinks”, Hope said with a smile.

After their make out session in Hope’s dressing room, Hope had wanted to go straight back to the hotel. Kelley, caught up in the moment, obliged, even though they usually hung out to work the crowd and media for at least an hour after every performance. Instead, Hope had pulled Kelley out of the dressing room and to a waiting car. Now they were back at the hotel in Hope’s suite. Hope opened the doors to the balcony, then looked back suggestively at Kelley as she strode out. Kelley stared at her for a moment and then went to the wet bar to fix her and Hope a drink. She rummaged around for a moment, looking for the ingredients for a tequila sunrise, Hope’s favorite drink. She found everything and made two, then headed back to the balcony area.

“Here you go”, Kelley called out to Hope. “Your favorite. Tequila sunr-“ she said, but then looked up and froze mid-sentence.

Hope was naked. She was standing next to the hot tub on the balcony, smiling. Kelley stood still, transfixed. Sure, their make-out session in the dressing room had been hot and heavy, but this was the first time that Kelley had ever seen Hope naked. She looks like a goddess, Kelley though. Scratch that – she is a goddess, Kelley said to herself, as her throat went dry.

“So…are you coming?” Hope asked flirtatiously and then climbed into the hot tub.

Kelley stepped out of her heels and walked out onto the balcony. She set the drinks on the ledge of the hot tub and then took off her suit jacket. Then she removed the rest of her clothes and left them on the balcony floor. She sat on the edge of the hot tub, swung her legs over, then stuck her feet in the water. It was warm but not hot – perfect for an October night in Boston. Plus, Kelley had a feeling that things were going to get a whole lot hotter in the next few minutes. She lowered herself the rest of the way into the water, Hope staring at her the whole time. When Kelley was finally sitting in the hot tub, Hope closed the distance. She crawled up Kelley’s body until she was half-straddling Kelley and put her hands on the edge of the hot tub behind Kelley.

“Hi”, Hope said, as she planted a soft kiss onto Kelley’s lips.

“Hi”, Kelley breathed out. “I…brought us drinks”, Kelley said, as she started to reach for Hope’s drink.

“Later”, Hope whispered against Kelley’s lips, as her hand slipped below the water and down Kelley’s body.

   
********  
 

Later that night Kelley and Hope were laying in Hope’s bed, Kelley’s back snuggled into Hope’s chest as Hope's arms curled around Kelley. They had started in the hot tub and then finished up on the bed. Now Hope’s face was tucked into the back of Kelley’s head, and Kelley could feel Hope’s rhythmic breath across the back of her head as the rock star slept. Kelley herself was exhausted, but she just couldn’t sleep. What was happening? She thought. How is this possible? I’ve kissed and made love with the world’s hottest rock singer. I’m pretty sure I’m falling for her. I mean, who wouldn’t? Kelley thought. And then, the follow-up thought. Is she falling for me, too? If so, how is that possible? She could have anyone she wanted. Why would she fall for someone like me, someone so far down the food chain? Maybe she wasn’t, Kelley continued to think. Maybe she’s done this before, with other women. Maybe I’m just a diversion to pass the time. That thought made Kelley a bit sad, but then she thought, it just doesn’t feel like that, though. The way we talk, the way we snuggle, the way we take walks and have meals together. The way we tease each other about being older and younger. The way she laughed when she pointed out that I have freckles in places other than my face. Still, I don’t know what to make of all of this, Kelley thought. Somehow, I just can’t believe this is happening to me.

As she continued to think, Kelley felt herself become sleepy. She closed her eyes and was drifting off when she heard her phone buzz a text. Without leaving Hope’s embrace, she grabbed it off the nightstand and looked at it. It was from Abby:

Abby: Did you and Hope bail on the Vanity Fair interview after the show?

Kelley looked at the text and swore. Shit, she thought. They had missed an interview. She had gotten caught up in the moment with Hope and had forgotten about it. She grabbed her phone and texted back.

Kelley: Hope felt ill, had to take her back to hotel, sorry. I will reschedule with Vanity Fair.

Kelley waited for a moment, and then her phone buzzed.

Abby: I heard you left hand in hand with Hope. Wtf Kelley!?

Kelley sighed. She should respond to Abby, but she couldn’t think of the best thing to write back, so she set her phone down and exhaled.

“Who’s that?” Hope mumbled against the hair on the back of Kelley’s head.

“No one. I mean, it’s nothing”, Kelley said, then thought, 'What am I doing?' as she closed her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

“Hey!” Hope said to Carli as Carli answered her phone.

“Solo! How’s it going?”

“Good. Guess where I am?”

“Where?”

“In my hotel room…in Philly!”

“Sweet! You’re playing Philly tonight?”

“Yep! Can’t wait. It’s always a special time playing here.” Hope smiled as she spoke into the phone. “The site of our first out-of-town gig.”

“Of course”, Carli said, smiling back at the memory. Right after she had met Hope, she had traveled back from L.A. to Delran Township to visit her parents for a long weekend. Hope had come with her. Carli had called a coffee shop near her parents' house and had talked the manager into letting Hope perform. Hope ended up playing an hour of acoustic songs to twenty people. After Hope had played, she and Carli had used the seven dollars Hope had made in tips to buy two cups of coffee and a pastry, and then they had spent the rest of the night at the coffee shop, talking about how they were going to one day rule the music world together. The next time Hope performed in Philadelphia had been three years later, on a major label and climbing the charts. Carli was her PR manager. Hope had been back four times since then, playing to twenty thousand people a night each time. All of the shows in Philadelphia had been great, made even better by a fond memory of her first show there. Every time Hope played in Philadelphia she would drive past the coffee shop she had played at, reminiscing about her first out-of-town show. It served as a reminder of how far she had come, and of her friendship and musical partnership with Carli. Now she was back in Philly again. Carli had been with her for every Philly show but this one, and for that reason, she was going to make tonight extra good. “Remember both of us cramming into my old twin bed?” Carli continued.

“Oh my God, was that uncomfortable”, Hope groaned, reminiscing.

“I know, right? Halfway through the first night I had to get up and sleep on the floor. Thank God there was carpet in my old bedroom.”

“Hey – I would’ve gotten up and slept on the floor”, Hope said. “I wasn’t spoiled back then…yet”, she added, and then laughed.

Carli laughed as well. “You still aren’t spoiled. You’re just as level-headed as you always have been.” Hope smiled into the phone, and Carli said, “Anyway, you can pay me back by rockin’ the house tonight. So bummed I can’t be there.”

“I know, me too”, Hope said. “It just won’t be the same without you here.”

“Well, crush it all the more then”, Carli said.

“You got it.” Hope said, and then coughed.

“You okay, Solo?”

“Yeah, just picked up a bit of a cough.”

“Bummer, sorry to hear.”

“Thanks. It happens”, Hope said. People often picked up colds on tour. The constant traveling and being in new environments increased the chances of picking up a virus. “I’ll be fine once I hit the stage."

“I hear ya”, Carli said. “So…how’s Kelley doing?” Carli asked, switching gears.

“Um, she’s great. We’re great.”

“Oh yeah…?” Carli let it hang.

“Yeah”, Hope said. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled. “I kind of like her, Car.”

Carli was silent for a moment and then said, “Really… well, what does ‘kind of like her’ mean?”

“Okay, I think I do like her”, Hope said.

“Well, great! I’m happy for you, Solo.” Carli was silent for another moment as she tried to process this and then said, “So, like, what have you two been doing?”

“Well, we’ve been hanging out a lot, and then I took her out to dinner in New York-“

“Ahhhh”, Carli interrupted. “That’s where you were. I saw you guys on TMZ.”

“Yeah, the paparazzi got us right outside the restaurant. We ditched them and went to Central Park afterwards, and then we kissed at the park.”

“Wow, sounds romantic, Solo”, Carli said sincerely.

“It was”, Hope said, smiling, thinking about that night. “And then, like two nights ago, she slept over in my room, and…um…we…um…got together…”

“Wow”, Carli said again. “That was quick.”

“Well no, not really”, Hope said. “I mean, maybe a little, but, you know, I’ve been drawn to her ever since I met her, and that was like over two months ago. I just…I just didn’t act on anything right away because, well, I wanted to take it slow, because, like you said, she’s managing me.”

“That’s smart”, Carli said. “Well, good for you, Solo. Sounds like things are going well then.”

“They are”, Hope said. She smiled as she thought about how well things were going. “I really love being with Kelley. I actually can’t imagine this tour without her.”

“Well good. And she’s still doing a good job managing you?”

“Yeah, as far as I can tell. Everything is running smoothly”, Hope said. Then she coughed again.

“Shit, Solo. You don’t sound too good.”

“I’ll be okay. Maybe I just need to rest for a bit”, Hope said. “Get some shut eye for a few hours before I have to start getting ready.”

“Alright, I’ll let you go then. Tell Kelley I said hi, and knock ‘em dead for me, Solo.”

“You bet, Car. Talk soon”, Hope said, then hung up, put her phone on the nightstand, then laid down in bed. She had started feeling a little under the weather yesterday but had brushed it off. Today she felt even worse. Not terrible, but worse than yesterday. Coughing, a bit light-headed, and a little lacking in energy. Oh well, Hope thought. I’ll be okay. Just need some rest. She was excited to play the show tonight, and she figured that once she got on that stage she would be fine.

   
********

   
“Hope”, Kelley said as she touched Hope’s shoulder. Kelley had been out running around for most of the day. Now it was 3pm, and it was time to get ready and then head to the venue. Kelley shook Hope lightly, trying to rustle her awake.

“Hmmmm”, Hope said, sleepily.

“Hope, you need to get up”, Kelley said. “We have to leave for the venue soon.”

Hope rolled over and then opened her eyes. Kelley was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at her.

“Are you okay?” Kelley asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine”, Hope said. “Just tired, or worn out, or something…” Hope trailed off.

“Are you okay to play tonight?” Kelley asked.

“Yes”, Hope said resolutely, perking up. “Absolutely. I just need a shower and then I’ll be good to go.” Hope got up out of bed and started walking to the shower, but paused halfway there and propped her hand against the bathroom doorway for support. Then she coughed and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Hope, what’s wrong?” Kelley asked.

“Nothing, I’m fine”, Hope said. “It’s just a cold. Happens when you travel.”

“Hope-“ Kelley began, but Hope cut her off.

“I’ll be fine, Kel. Just give me a few minutes in the shower”, she said, and then shut the door.

   
********  
 

“Kelley”, Abby answered the phone. Kelley was at the venue. Hope was soundchecking. It was three hours to showtime.

“Abby – Hope isn’t feeling well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now she’s coughing, and she was sleeping like all day. I woke her up to come to the venue, and when I did, she was really out of it. Then she went to walk to the shower, and she had to stop halfway there and rest on the doorway.”

“So, what are you saying? Are you saying she isn’t well enough to perform?”

“I’m not sure”, Kelley answered. “She says she feels okay, but I’m just not sure.”

"Think this is related to how she wasn’t feeling well a few nights ago, when you guys missed the Vanity Fair interview?”

Kelley had to stop to think about that for a moment, and then remembered that she had told Abby that Hope hadn’t been feeling well, to cover for the fact that in reality she and Hope had simply left the venue right after Hope had gotten offstage so they could go back to Hope’s hotel room and make love. “Uh, yeah, maybe it’s related to that, I don’t know”, Kelley said.

“Well, it’s your call as her manager. If you need to pull her, then pull her. It will suck, the promoter will freak, and we’ll lose a bunch of money, but God forbid if she goes up on that stage and passes out, hits her head or something and then misses the next week or two of shows. Then we’ll lose a lot more money.”

“But I know she really wants to play here tonight. What if she says she’s okay?”

“It’s still your call”, Abby said. “Hope may say she feels fine. She may even say she feels fine even if she doesn’t feel fine. She’s an artist. She’ll say what she feels. That’s what artists do. They’re based off of emotion. You are the manager. You need to make the right decisions and the right calls, and sometimes your artist may not agree or like what you decide, but you have to make those calls anyway. That’s your job. Are you clear on that?”

“Yes, Abby”, Kelley said.

“Good. See how Hope looks when she gets offstage. Have the tour doctor take a look at her if you feel that is necessary.” The tour employed a traveling physician that attended to Hope, the other musicians and the crew. “Then make the call.”

“Got it. Thanks Abby”, Kelley said, then hung up.

   
********  
 

After Hope finished soundcheck Kelley had summoned the tour doctor take a look at her. Hope had argued against it, but Kelley had insisted. Now they were in Hope’s dressing room. Hope was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. The doctor had just finished his exam.

“You do feel warm, and your eyes look a little unsteady”, the doctor said as he put away his mini examination light. “You don’t feel light-headed or anything?”

“Correct”, Hope lied. “I feel fine. Just a bit of a cough. I can make it through one show.”

“Well, my advice is to rest anyway. Take tonight off to be safe”, the doctor said.

“I can’t”, Hope said. “There’s twenty thousand people coming to see me tonight."

“Well, that’s my advice”, the doctor said. He looked at Hope and then nodded at Kelley and then left the room.

“Hope”, Kelley said, kneeling before Hope and taking her hands. “If you don’t feel well then you shouldn’t get up onstage.”

“Kel, I’m just a little sick”, Hope said. “I’ll be fine. “I’ve performed sick before.”

“The doctor said you should take the night off”, Kelley pushed.

“The doctor doesn’t have twenty thousand people here to see him perform”, Hope shot back.

“But it’s a long set. Two hours you’re going to be up there. Hundred degree lights. High energy show. You’ll be-“

“Fine”, Hope interrupted her. “I’ll be fine.” She stared at Kelley for a moment, trying to appear together, ready to go. Inside she still felt weak and light-headed, but there was no way she would miss this show. She had canceled shows before, and any other show on this tour she would have considered canceling, but not this one. This was Philly, where she and Carli had done their first out-of-town show together, all those years ago, Carli calling the coffee shop to book Hope, and Hope playing to twenty people. This is where they had gotten their start together and had forged their professional bond and friendship. She’d be damned if she'd miss this show. Hope continued to stare at Kelley, but try as she might, she couldn’t hold it. Her gaze fell, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Hope”, Kelley said.

“I’m okay”, Hope said, looking at Kelley. Then her eyes started to glaze over, and she shook her head, trying to regain focus.

Kelley looked at Hope for a moment as Hope struggled to regain focus and then said, “That’s it – I’m calling the performance.” She stood up to walk out of the room.

“No!” Hope yelled and stood up.

Kelley stopped and turned around. It was the first time Hope had ever yelled at her.

“Hope…”

“No”, Hope said again, calmer but just as firm. “I am playing this show, Kelley. This is Philly. This is where I had my first out-of-town gig. That’s a big deal, for any musician. You never forget your first out-of-town gig. And this was where mine was. Right here, fifteen minutes from this arena." She looked at Kelley for a moment and then continued. "Look, Kelley, this town is special to me. This is where Carli and I made a pledge to each other that we would take on the music world and come out on top. Now, I am on top. And Carli isn’t here tonight. This is the first Philly show that she hasn’t been around for, so I’m performing for her tonight. I told her that I would rock this place to the fucking ground, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Kelley stared at Hope. “Listen, Hope, I understand that Philly means a lot to you, but-“

“But nothing, Kelley. I am playing this show. Trust me – I’ll be fine when I get up there.” She walked over to Kelley and grabbed her hands. “Listen, I know you’re just looking out for me and doing what you think is right, but I’ve performed thousands of shows, and I’ve performed feeling a lot worse than this”, Hope said and looked Kelley in the eyes. “Please, Kel – playing this show means so much to me. Please understand and support me on this.”

Kelley stared back into Hope’s eyes. Her gut told her that Hope shouldn’t perform tonight. She thought about Abby, her boss, the best artist manager she knew, and what she would do right now in this situation. The safe thing to do would be to cancel the show. That’s what Abby would do. Kelley knew she should make the call and cancel the show. That would be the professional thing to do. Then Kelley looked at Hope, the woman she was falling for, and she knew how much this show meant personally to her. She imagined making the call, the crushed look on Hope’s face, the havoc that may wreak in their personal relationship, and she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Okay”, Kelley said and exhaled deeply. “If you truly feel well enough to play, then okay – I won’t call the show. I’ll support you.”

“Thank you”, Hope said. She smiled her brilliant smile and then leaned down and kissed Kelley on the lips. “You’re the best.”

Kelley smiled back. “You’re welcome. Just…you know…have a great show”, Kelley said, but inside she thought _just don’t collapse onstage and get hurt._

   
********  
 

They were halfway through the show. It was hot on stage, Hope thought. Unusually hot. But she felt pretty good. She had started off a bit slower than usual. Not that anyone in the crowd had noticed, judging by the ear-splitting level of screaming in the Wells Fargo Center. Hope had felt sluggish and out of it at the start of the show, but now, halfway in, she was feeling better. The band launched into the tenth song, one of Hope’s chart-topping hits. Hope strutted to the front of the stage and took the crowd in the palm of her hand. She belted out the chorus and the crowd went wild, twenty thousand people singing along, hands in the air. Then, as Megan launched into her guitar solo, Hope walked to the side of the stage and started to climb some stairs that led to a platform that jutted out over the crowd. She was going to sing the last chorus from there. This was a standard procedure for her biggest hits, and it always brought down the house. She got halfway up the stairs, and then it happened. She started to feel dizzy. The lightheadedness that had gone away after the first couple of songs came back. The music started to warp, like a record player slowing down. The lights, already intense when she was down at stage level, suddenly felt ten times hotter. She thought she might have heard something that sounded like Kelley’s voice yelling, but she wasn’t sure. She started to sing into the mic, but she couldn’t hear anything, and suddenly the world went black.  
 

********  
 

Kelley was watching Hope from the side of the stage, fingers crossed the whole time. Hope had started off a little slow, but she had gotten better as the performance had gone on. Now they were halfway through the set, and if things kept improving as the set went on, it was going to end up being a great performance. Then she saw Hope walk towards her and start to climb the stairs on her side of the stage, and instantly Kelley’s instincts screamed out. No, Hope, she thought. Don’t do it. I know you usually get up on the platform during the hit songs, but please skip it tonight. Then she watched as Hope, halfway up the stairs, stopped climbing. She seemed to wobble for a moment, and then put the mic to her mouth. Kelley yelled out for Hope but Hope didn’t hear her. Hope started to sing and got the first few words of the last chorus out, but as soon as she did, she stopped singing, wobbled some more, and then Kelley’s heart lurched as Hope fell ten feet down off of the staircase and onto the hard wood of the stage.


	11. Chapter 11

Hope eyes fluttered open. At first she couldn’t figure out where she was, and then it came back to her. She had been performing, not feeling well. It had felt hot onstage.

“Hey”, Kelley said and smiled. Hope looked over and saw Kelley sitting in the chair next to her bed.

“Hey”, Hope said back.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay”, Hope said. “What happened?”

“You were on stage. You went to climb up the side stairs. You got about halfway up, and then you stopped climbing. You put the mic to your mouth and sang a few words, and then you wobbled some more, and then…” Kelley trailed off.

“I fell”, Hope finished for her. She looked over at Kelley and Kelley nodded sadly. Hope looked at Kelley for a moment, and then looked at herself. She was dressed in hospital garb, but she didn’t see any casts or slings. “Well, I feel okay”, she said.

“Yeah, you were lucky. Somehow you fell in such a way that you didn’t break anything.”

“Lucky indeed”, Hope said. “How long have I been here?”

“Since last night. You fell halfway through the set, about 9:30pm. It’s the next day, a bit after 3pm.”

Hope smiled at Kelley, then dropped her smile when she saw Kelley’s face. “What is it, Kel?”

“I shouldn’t have let you go up there”, Kelley said, biting her lip. I should have never let you get up on that stage.”

“Hey, Kel – I begged you, remember? I really wanted to play.”

“Still”, Kelley said. “I should have done the right thing.”

“Hey”, Hope said. “It was me who made that call. It was me who decided to perform, right?”

Kelley was about to say ‘but I should have stopped you’, when the door opened to their room.

“Kelley O’Hara?” a nurse’s voice came.

“Yes?” Kelley said.

“An Abby Wambach is here to see you.”

   
********  
 

“What the hell happened last night? And why didn’t you call me right away?” Abby asked curtly. They had moved to a private conference room down the hall from Hope’s room. Abby had been notified late last night about Hope fainting by someone who had heard from someone else. The news had spread quick. Thousands of fans had caught the fall while they were recording the show and had posted to social media. Abby’s phone had been ringing off the hook since the accident had happened. She had called Carli right away and then had caught the earliest flight she could this morning to Philadelphia.

“I-I-I’m sorry, I didn’t call right away”, Kelley stammered. She hadn’t called because she had wanted to try to handle the situation herself, especially since she hadn’t done what Abby would have done given Hope’s condition, which was to pull the show. She didn’t really have a plan, but she had been trying to formulate one quick. She wanted to appear like she had the situation under control, that she was capable enough to handle problems when problems arose, but she knew right now that she was in big trouble. She had caved in to what Hope had wanted to do because she and Hope have feelings for each other, because they have a personal relationship, and things had gone badly.

“So, what happened?” Abby asked again.

“Hope fainted, or something. The doctors haven’t told us yet exactly what the cause was”, Kelley said.

“Did you have the tour physician examine her before the show, like I suggested?”

“Yes.”

“And…?”

Kelley exhaled. “He recommended that Hope not perform.” 

“And you let her go up onstage anyway?” Abby asked. Her voice was rising. “You knew she wasn’t feeling well, the doctor recommended she take the night off, and you didn’t call the show?”

Kelley didn’t answer, so Abby simply asked “Why?”

“Hope really wanted to play the show”, Kelley said. “It really meant a lot to her.”

“How much do you think it means to her right now, lying in a hospital bed? She could have been killed. Lucky for her she didn’t fall on her head, or break her neck or something. You were supposed to make the right call, do the smart thing, Kelley. I want to know what happened.”

“I’m sorry, Abby. I should have called the show.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

Kelley stared at Abby for a moment, and then said, “Because I couldn’t bear the thought of Hope being upset with me if I called this show. She wanted to play it so badly.”

“I told you that artists don’t always agree with their managers. But they hire us to do the smart thing, whether they like it or not”, Abby said. “So, again, why didn’t you pull the show?” When Kelley didn’t answer Abby continued. “So what – Hope would have been upset. Big fucking deal! There would have been a month worth of shows left, and we could have rescheduled this one for the end of the tour. Now we have to cancel the next week and a half, maybe two, just to be safe. That’s about fifteen million dollars in revenue. So”, Abby asked again, “What happened?” Kelley didn’t answer and looked down at her feet. Abby looked at her and asked, “Are you and Hope romantically involved?”

Kelley stared at Abby, fighting the tears that started to well up in her eyes. She thought about what if Hope had fallen and landed on her head and died, or broke her neck. She thought about how this could have been avoided if she hadn’t caved in and agreed to something she knew wasn’t the smart thing to do. Then she thought about the loss of income from her decision to let Hope perform. The guilt overcame her and she said, “Yes.”

“What was that?”

“Yes”, Kelley said. “Hope and I are dating. Or seeing each other. Or something.”

“I knew it”, Abby said. “As soon as I saw you guys on TMZ, I knew it.” Abby stared at Kelley for a moment. She could picture it in her mind, the way last night had all gone down. Hope had really wanted to play the show, despite not feeling well. Kelley had probably initially said no, but Hope had insisted, and instead of doing the smart thing, Kelley had let her personal feelings guide her judgment and had let Hope get onstage. Abby sighed as she continued to look at Kelley. She liked Kelley, and she'd had high hopes for her, but this wasn’t the way to do business. The Firm hadn’t become the most successful artist management company in the world by making sloppy business decisions because its employees were getting romantically involved with their clients. Kelley had made a terrible judgment error.

“I’m sorry, Abby”, Kelley squeaked out.

“We lost a ton of money here, and you put Hope’s life in jeopardy, Kelley.”

“I know, and I’m sorry”, Kelley said again.

Abby looked at Kelley and then said, “I am taking you off the tour.”

Kelley looked up at Abby. “W-w-wait…please…”

“I am taking you off the tour, Kelley. I’m not going to fire you, but I am taking you off of this tour. I was hoping that you would be capable of handling this tour professionally, but it doesn’t seem like that is the case. So, I will be finishing off the tour with Hope.”

“Abby”, Kelley said. She knew she was in no place to argue, but still, she didn’t want to leave.

“Call our travel department right now. They can book you on the first flight back to L.A. There is a car outside right now, the one I arrived here in. Have it take you back to the hotel, and pack your things. Then the car will take you to the airport. I’ll tell Hope right now, and you and I can talk when you get back to L.A.” Abby said. She looked at Kelley for another moment, then shook her head, disappointed. “I told you not to get involved with Hope.” Then she turned around and walked out of the room.

   
********  
 

Kelley was in her hotel room and was just finishing packing when there was a knock at the door.

“Just a minute!” she yelled, thinking it was someone from the hotel telling her that the car was waiting for her. She was moving as fast as she could, and trying to manage a bunch of swirling emotions. She didn’t need to be hassled right now. She continued to pack, when the knocking came again. “Shit!” Kelley swore. She stormed over to the door and then opened it. It was Hope.

“Hi”, Hope said.

“Hope…hi. How are you feeling?”

“I feel okay”, Hope said. She leaned down to kiss Kelley, but Kelley turned her cheek to Hope’s lips. Hope pulled back, surprised, and then came in the room and shut the door.

“Did you talk with the doctor?” Kelley asked.

“Yeah. They said my blood sugar was low. I told them I’ve been feeling lower on energy overall in the last few months, so they also tested for some other stuff as well, but I won’t hear back for a few days", Hope said. “I thought it was just touring non-stop that was wearing me down, but maybe it’s something else.”

Kelley nodded. “Well, I hope you’re okay”, she said, as she finished zipping up her bag. She signed, then she looked at Hope. “I’m leaving the tour.”

“I know. Abby came to talk with me. That’s why I’m here.” Hope looked at Kelley and then said. “She can’t take you off. I want you here.”

“But she’s my boss”, Kelley said.

“But I’m the client”, Hope said. “And I want you on my tour.”

“Well, good luck getting that past Abby”, Kelley said, defeated.

Hope though for a moment and then said, “Well what if you just stay on my tour, but not as my manager?”

“What?”

“Just stay on my tour. Not as a manager, but as…I don’t know, just to keep me company. I like having you here. I like being around you. I like being with you, Kelley.”

“And do what? What am I going to do?”

“You don’t have to do anything. You can just hang out. Like I said, keep me company. Musicians bring people that they are seeing on tour all the time. I take it you told Abby about us?” Kelley nodded. “So, that’s not a secret. Plus, there‘s only one month left on this tour anyway. Certainly you can manage just hanging out with me for a month?” Hope said with a smile. She could tell Kelley was upset and was trying to lighten the mood.

“I can’t”, Kelley says. “I mean, I don’t think I could be on this tour and have to see Abby everyday.”

Hope thought for a moment and then said, “Okay, I’ll let her go then. I’ll fire The Firm and take you as my manager.”

“Wait, what?” Kelley asked, surprised.

“I’ll fire The Firm and hire you”, Hope said.

“Hope…I don’t have the experience to manage you.”

“Sure you do. Plus, I can pull Carli back in to help. What you don’t know, she can help you with.” Hope looked at Kelley and said, “You’ve done just fine the last couple of months”, Hope said.

“Until last night”, Kelley mumbled.

“What was that?”

“I shouldn’t have let you play last night.” Kelley said.

“Hey, I already said, it was my call”, Hope said.

“But I should have insisted that you didn’t play. Instead…”

Hope looked at Kelley and then walked over to her. She put her hands on Kelley’s arms. “Kelley, I want you to stay here. Manage me. Be with me.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Unless you don’t want to be with me…”

“I shouldn’t have let you play last night.” Kelley said again and pulled away from Hope’s arms.

“Kelley, for like the tenth time, I was the one wh-“

“But I should have stopped you!” Kelley yelled. “Don’t you see? I can’t manage you if I’m romantically involved with you, Hope.” Kelley stared at Hope for a moment and then said, “I’m falling for you, and I can’t make the decisions I need to make if I’m with you like that.”

“Kelley, that’s silly. It was one show, one little thing last night.”

“You could have died, Hope! How could I have possibly even let you get yourself into a situation like that? It was stupid! I should have just said no and pulled the show, whether you liked it or not. And I could have done that if I didn’t like you so much. But the way you looked at me last night…I just couldn’t say no. And if I had done the right thing last night, it would have been just one show you missed. Now you’re out for like six to eight more shows. All that money…” Kelley drifted off.

“Is this about money, Kelley?” Hope asked. “I have money. You don’t have to worry about money. I’ll take care of you. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”

“But I _want_ to work, Hope. And if you fire Abby, I doubt she’ll take me back at the Firm. Even if you keep her on as manager for the rest of the tour and I just tag along, she probably won’t take me back either”, Kelley said. She didn’t want to have to see Abby every day for the rest of the tour, and she certainly didn’t want to look like a freeloader either. “Hope, The Firm is the largest management company in the world. And people talk. If I get fired from there, word will spread about me. It’s not just artists that get gossiped about. And then what am I going to do for a living?”

“I just said, you don’t have to work. I have money.”

“But I _want_ to work, Hope. I _want_ to earn the money I get.”

Hope sighed. “Kelley, I can tell you’re upset right now, but you don’t need to be. Hey – it was me that fell, and I’m not upset. Plus, like I said, I want you here, and I can take care of you." Hope paused for a moment and then said, "Look – just stay until the end of the tour. Think of it as we well-earned vacation for all of the hard work that you have already put in”, Hope said with a smile, trying to bring some levity to Kelley’s mood. “Then, when we get back to L.A., we can figure things out. And if The Firm lets you go, then I can support you while you look for new employment.”

Kelley was silent for a moment and then said the tough thing that she had been avoiding. “But what if you leave?” Kelley said. “What if you leave me?”

“What!? Kelley, I’m not going to leave you. I _like_ you”, Hope said, becoming exasperated. She stared at Kelley. “Kelley, what is it? Do you not want to be with me or something?” 

“I don’t know...I guess I just can’t rely on you always being with me. I mean, my dad walked out on us...”

“Jesus, Kelley!” Hope yelled. “I’m not your dad! And I’m not going to just walk out on you! God, why is that so hard for you to believe me?”

Because, Kelley thought, I just can’t believe it. I just can’t believe that someone like Hope Solo would actually be even remotely interested in being in a relationship with me. “Well, I don’t know”, she said out loud.

“Well what DO you know, Kelley? All I’ve heard out of you is 'I don’t know, I don’t know'!" Hope yelled again. “What is it that you want?”

“I don’t know what I want!” Kelley yelled back. The truth was, Kelley really didn’t know. So many thoughts were swirling around in her head. She couldn’t stay on the tour if Abby was the manager. She’d be reminded everyday of her failure, and it would kill her to see Abby doing the job that she was supposed to be doing, not to mention the feeling of shame that she felt over letting Abby down, after Abby had given her the opportunity to work with Hope, the disappointed look on Abby's face burned into her mind. She couldn’t manage Hope if they were together. She had already proven that she wasn’t able to make the right decisions. She felt guilty enough as it was right now, just looking at Hope, knowing that she could have stopped Hope from performing, but she hadn’t, and Hope had ended up in the hospital. And, tempting as Hope's offer was, she just couldn’t live the life of a girlfriend to a famous rock star. Yes, she wanted security. Her father’s departure and her mother’s constant verbal reminders of the financial hardship he had left the family in had cemented that in her mind, but more than that, she wanted to be independent. She wanted to be able to take care of herself. It wasn’t enough to just be with someone who could take care of her. Again, part of Kelley just couldn’t believe that someone like Hope Solo would stay with her for the rest of her life. But beyond that, she wanted to make something of herself. Even if she had been sure that Hope would stay with her forever, she still wanted to forge her own place in this world.

“Kelley…” Hope said.

“Look, Hope”, Kelley began. “I just don’t know. I feel so confused right now. I mean…I’m falling for you, and a part of me wants to be with you, even though another part of me can’t believe it’s real, that someone like you would actually want to be with someone like me-“

“Kelley-“, Hope said again, but Kelley cut her off.

“But more than that, I want to be self-sufficient. I want to manage artists. I want to tour. I want a life. I want my _own_ life, Hope.”

Hope stared at her. She had never realized so many thoughts had been going through Kelley’s head. She had never planned on falling for Kelley. It just kind of happened. But it did happen, and now they were dealing with it. And Hope had always been a more “go with the flow” person. She had come from nothing. She had survived off of nothing. And now, even with all of her millions, she could still go back to nothing. As long as she had a few things in life she would be happy. One of those was music. Another was friends, good friends like Carli. And another, she realized, was Kelley. Hope had always thought of Kelley as being more methodical and less go-with-the-flow than herself, but right now the difference was becoming apparent. She looked Kelley in the eye and then said, “Well, I want to be with you. And I want you to be with me. And I don’t want to be away from you for months at a time. So if you want to make a living managing bands on tour, but you don’t want to manage me, then what do you want, Kelley?”

Kelley stared at Hope for a moment. She was trapped, unsure, and didn’t know what to do. “I’m sorry, Hope…”Kelley mumbled, a tear forming in her eye. “But maybe I just don’t know what I want.”

Hope looked back at Kelley, a tear of hurt forming in her own eye. “Fine, Kelley. You let me know when you figure it out”, she said. She stared at Kelley for another moment, and then she felt the tear trickle down her cheek. She blinked it away, then turned around and walked out of the room, and Kelley shut her eyes as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: this chapter contains references to medical diagnoses. I don’t know much about that kind of stuff, but it’s just there to help drive the story. I apologize for any falsities.

“How are you feeling?” Carli asked.

It was a week after Hope had blacked out onstage and fallen off of the stairs. Carli and Hope were in Hope’s hotel room. They were still in Philadelphia. Abby had postponed the rest of the tour until the doctor cleared Hope to resume performing. Carli had flown in the day after Abby and, outside of the work she had to do for her other clients, was spending as much time with Hope as possible while she recuperated.

“Better, thanks. I think I’ll be good to resume the tour starting tomorrow. At least that’s what the doctor says.”

“Any word on what caused you to blackout like that?”

Hope looked at Carli and exhaled. “I met with the doctor this morning. He says I have something called Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MDS. Basically, I have a low red blood cell count.”

“Huh”, Carli said. “So, what causes that?”

“Well, he’s not really sure what caused it, but he thinks part of it may be the constant traveling and performing that I’ve done over the last ten years, not to mention the rock n’ roll diet”, Hope added sheepishly, referring to the large amounts of alcohol and other drugs that musicians often consume, not to mention the usually less-than-healthy meals that musicians eat while on tour. Hope had never been a heavy drinker or drug user, but she had indulged more than the average person, especially when she first started out. It’s just part of the lifestyle, and all rock musicians go through it.

“Wow, okay”, Carli said.

“Yeah, I mean, you know me - I’ve never been a big drinker or anything, but, I guess it’s the combination of enough drinking, smoking some joints, and whatever else, plus years of touring, just all adds up”, Hope said. “Hard living, I guess.”

“Huh”, Carli said, thinking. “So, what does that all mean?”

“Well, I’m not gonna die or anything, but I do need to start moderating my lifestyle”, Hope explained. “You know – eat better, get enough sleep, basically live a more low-impact and sedentary lifestyle.” She paused for a moment, and then said, “I think this is it for me, Car. This is going to be my last tour. I’m going to finish this one up and then that’s it.”

“Wow”, Carli said again. “Really…”

“Yes, really. My last album fulfilled my contract with Interscope, so I’m no longer under contract. I don’t have more obligations.”

Carli stared at Hope. This was big news. “So, what are you going to do after this tour?”

“I don’t know”, Hope said. “I mean, right now I just want to finish it up, and then I’ll figure it out.” She looked at Carli and then said, “I know I was talking about how I felt tired at the end of the last tour and at the beginning of this tour. I didn’t know why. I guess I just thought that touring gets harder as the years go by, but I guess now I know there’s more to it than just getting older.” Carli nodded, and then Hope said, “But even still, even before I knew why…I don’t know. I was considering retiring anyway.”

“Really?” Carli said, surprised. “Like, stop playing completely?”

“No, I’ll always play music”, Hope said. “Maybe just not professionally. Or at least not all the time. You know, I don’t know, I just feel like, my heart’s not in it like it used to. You know, touring all the time, recording around the clock, constantly writing songs, trying to come up with that next chart-topping hit. I mean, I still love playing music, but, I don’t know, just not at the pace I have been. I mean, I’ve been burning it hard for ten years. I guess I’m just kind of burnt out, even without this MDS thing.”

“I hear ya”, Carli said. Then she changed subjects. “Any word from Kelley?”

“Not since she left”, Hope said with a dejected tone in her voice.

Carli put her hand on Hope’s arm. “Hey, I’m sorry. I know you really like her.”

“I do”, Hope said. “I guess…I guess I just don’t understand why she just didn’t want to stay with me, here, on this tour. I mean, it was only for one more month. Then we could have gone back to L.A. and figured things out together. I mean, I would have supported her, while she, or we, were trying to figure things out.”

“Sure, I know you would have”, Carli said. “But it sounds like that’s not what she wanted. I mean, you told me that her dad left when she was younger, and how she wants to be independent and make her own living and have her own career, right?” Hope nodded and Carli continued. “It’s like, she’s just starting out. Think about yourself when you were starting out. Would you have wanted someone to have taken care of you?”

“No, I guess not”, Hope said.

“That’s right. You wanted to make it in the music world, to work your way up to the top. It sounds like that’s what she wants too.”

“I guess so”, Hope said.

“Have you tried to call her or text her?”

“No”, Hope said. “I want to, but I feel like if I call her she won’t answer.”

“Maybe so”, Carli said. “Well, she’s young. Maybe she just needs some time to figure out what she wants.”

“Yeah, I guess so”, Hope said, then trailed off. “I’m just really bummed out, Car. I mean, I was really hoping once this tour was over that Kelley and I would spend more time together. You know, snuggling on the couch, eating ice cream, watching Netflix, that sort of thing.” 

Carli looked at Hope and then smiled. “Look, my guess is that she likes you a lot, just like you like her. I don’t think that was goodbye, Hope.” She looked at Hope and smiled, and Hope smiled back. “Listen, you’ve only got a bit left on this tour. If this is your last one, then you should enjoy it. Finish off strong, and then you can go back to L.A. and we can figure out what’s next, okay? Maybe you can give Kelley a call when you get back home, and you guys can figure stuff out. Or you can take that vacation to Hawaii that we talked about before the start of this tour. I’ve always found that problems are best solved with my toes in the sand and a fruity drink in my hand”, Carli said with a smile.

Hope laughed and then said, “Thanks, Car. Once again, here you are, taking care of me.”

“I’m always here for you, Solo. You know that”, Carli said

   
********

   
“Oh my God! Is that the famous manager that I saw on TMZ, dating rock star Hope Solo?” Erin said as she answered Kelley’s Skype call.

“Hey, E”, Kelley said into the computer screen.

“What’s up, sis? Where are you now? Florida? Maryland? Wait – are you coming through Atlanta? You guys are coming to Georgia, aren’t you?” Erin asked, excitedly.

“I’m actually back in L.A.” Kelley said.

“Wait, what?” Erin asked. “I thought the tour was going for another month. Wait – did the tour get cancelled? I saw video on Youtube of Hope falling off the stage. Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s okay”, Kelley said. Then she exhaled and said, “but I’m off the tour.”

‘Wait – what happened?” Erin asked, and Kelley brought Erin up to speed on the recent events surrounding her premature return to L.A.

“So…wow. You and Hope…”

“Yeah, we fell for each other,” Kelley said.

“Wow. So, are you like…actually…like…dating Hope Solo?”

“I don’t know. I mean, maybe, although I’m not sure anymore. I mean, I haven’t talked with her in like a week.”

“And why haven’t you talked with her?”

“I don’t know”, Kelley said. “I mean, I want to, but I feel like if I call her she won’t answer. She pretty much told me that I need to figure out what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

“I don’t know, E”, Kelley said. “I mean, I want to be with her, but I want my own life, too.”

“Why can’t you have both? I mean, you don’t have to be her manager to be with her. You can still be with her and not work with her. Most couples don’t work together.”

“Well, I don’t think she wants that. I mean, she pretty much said that she’d want me around if we were to be together, and I can’t be managing another band and be on tour with them and be around Hope at the same time.”

“Well then why not be with Hope? I mean, you like her, right?”

“Well, yeah, but, I mean, I want my own life too”, Kelley said. “I want a career. I want to make something of myself. I don’t want to depend on someone else’s money.”

“Money isn’t everything, Kel”, Erin said.

“Dad left us with nothing. If it’s one thing I do, it’s learn from the past. I’m never falling for an artist I manage ever again, and I’ll never depend upon someone else to support me.”

“Yeah, dad left us, but we made it, didn’t we? We turned out okay. Look, Kel, I understand not wanting to be left out in the cold, but again, money isn’t everything. You and Hope could have a wonderful thing together. You shouldn’t let your worry of money prevent you from being with her, if that’s what you want. I mean, not to sound negative, but if things with Hope don’t work out, you’re smart - you can always get another job.”

“Thanks, sis”, Kelley said.

“What makes you think she’s going to leave you? Has she said or done anything that would make you think that?”

“No, Kelley said. “Quite the opposite, actually. I mean, like I said, she asked me to stay on the tour and said she would support me.”

“Right, so what’s the problem?”

Kelley sighed. “Look, I do like her, a lot. I guess…part of me just still can’t believe that she would want to be with someone like me.”

“What!?” Erin said. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m a nobody, E. Hope’s like one of the biggest rock stars in the world.”

“Okay, first off, sis, you’re amazing. Any woman would be lucky to have you”, Erin said, and Kelley smiled. “And yes, Hope is a rock star, but she’s still just a person. She’s a person, just like you, me and everyone else. All she wants is to be happy, just like we all do. You can always find another job, but it’s much harder to find someone to fall in love with. Money’s not everything, and it’s not even the most important thing”, Erin said. Then she looked Kelley in the eye. “C’mon, sis - isn’t it worth giving it a shot?”


	13. Chapter 13

The sound of crashing waves woke Hope from her nap. She raised her head and stared out onto the beach. She had arrived in Kauai four days ago, two days after the tour had finished. It had gone well, but it just hadn’t been the same without Kelley. Hope had done what she had always done – played the shows, did the interviews, signed the autographs. She had even gone out more with the girls in the band, out for meals and drinks, but it just wasn’t the same. She missed Kelley – their incognito lunches, their dinners, their ice cream trips, snuggling in bed watching movies, the way Kelley’s tongue had felt as it glided across her stomach… Hope had spent the first night after Kelley had left crying in her bed. Over a month had passed since she and Kelley had last seen each other, and she missed her just as much as the day she had left the tour. Plenty of times she had picked up the phone to call Kelley, but then she stopped herself. She had told Kelley to figure out what she wanted, and much as she wanted to talk with her, to hear her voice, she didn’t want Kelley to feel like she was pressuring her. Plus, a part of Hope, the stubborn part of her, wanted Kelley to be the one to call her. The ball was in her court, and in Hope’s mind, it was up to her to make the next move.

Hope got up off of the beach chair and headed into her bungalow. She grabbed a glass of water and was about to flip on the TV when her phone rang. It was Carli.

“Aloha!” Carli sung out when Hope answered the phone.

“Hey Car”, Hope said.

“How’s Hawaii treating you?”

“Good. I always love coming here.”

“I know you do”, Carli said. “Are you unwinding? Relaxing? Figuring out what’s next?”

“The first two”, Hope said. “I haven’t gotten around to figuring out what’s next. And, to be honest, I’m not really in a hurry to.”

“Have you spoken with Kelley yet?”

“No, I haven’t heard from her”, Hope said. “In fact, I’m trying not to think about her, but that’s not working out very well. I think about her all the time.”

“And let me guess – the stubborn part of you doesn’t want to be the one to call her, right?” Carli dug.

“Well, I mean, she knows what I want. The ball’s in her court. She should call me. Plus, I don’t want her to feel like I’m pressuring her or anything.”

“But it’s been like over a month since you last saw her, right?” Carli said. “I don’t think that you’d be pressuring her if you called her at this point.”

“Well, even still, she should call me”, Hope said.

“Okay, I get it”, Carli said. “Well, get this. On a somewhat related note, I just spoke with a friend of mine, Jim Turnbach. He’s Christen Press’ agent. You know who she is?”

“Yeah, Car, everyone does. She’s like the most famous soccer player in the world.”

“Right. Well, Christen is on vacation in Hawaii right now. She just finished up the season with The Chicago Red Stars, who won the championship last month, and the national team doesn’t start training for another month. So, I thought that-“

“Car, no”, Hope groaned. Please don’t set me up on a date.”

“What’s wrong with a date, Solo? She’s hot, and I’ve never met her, but Jim tells me she’s really nice.”

“I didn’t come out here to be set up on dates, Car. I came out here to relax and try to figure out what I’m going to do with my life now that I’m not going to be touring anymore. And I’m already trying to sort out how I feel about one girl. I don’t need to throw another one into the mix.”

“But that’s where it’s perfect, see? It’s just a vacation date. There's nothing to sort out. You’re out there, she’s out there, it’ll be fun. Look – she’s in Honolulu, staying at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki. You hop a puddle jumper over there in the early evening, you get to watch the sunset as you land, you have dinner at Roy’s, you get some drinks at Duke’s and you see where it goes. If dinner sucks, then you skip the drinks and fly back to your bungalow. If dinner goes well then you get drinks, and if it’s too late to get a flight back then you grab a hotel room in Waikiki for the night. Now, if things go _really_ well…

“Don’t, Car", Hope said, hearing the suggestive tone in Carli's voice, "Don’t even go there…”

“Look, Solo, all I’m saying is that maybe a little social interaction would be a good thing. I mean, Christ, I’m not saying you need to marry Christen. I’m just saying that maybe getting out for a nice dinner and some drinks will be better than sitting around moping about some girl who you are waiting on to call you back.”

“I’m not sitting around moping, Car. I’m relaxing and thinking about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”

“You’re moping, Solo. I can tell-“

“Fine”, Hope said, exasperated.

“Fine? As in, do you want me to call Jim and set it up?”

“I’ll think about it”, Hope said.

“There we go”, Carli said enthusiastically. “That’s all I was asking.”

   
********  
 

“Okay guys, great show tonight”, Kelley said. She waved goodbye to the band as they ducked into their hotel rooms and then popped into her own hotel room and laid down on the bed.

After she had spoken with Erin she had talked with Abby. Abby was still upset with Kelley, but she wanted to give Kelley another chance, so she had Kelley prep and then manage a three week tour for a mid-level dance-rock band called Pokerface. They were supporting Christina Aguilera on the west coast and mountain states leg of her nationwide tour. The band was two weeks in, with one more week to go, which would take them through early December. After that they would break for the holidays. The tour was going well, but as much as she tried to fight it, Kelley felt empty. It just wasn’t the same, not being around Hope. She missed their meals together, their walks, their talks, the way Hope’s arms felt when they wrapped themselves around Kelley’s stomach. She tried to tell herself that this was for the best, that she was making the right choice, to be independent, pursue her career and make her own mark on this world, rather than be the girlfriend of a famous rock star, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she hadn’t made the right choice.

Kelley laid in bed for a few more minutes, then got up and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, then took off her suit and put on her pajamas. She grabbed her phone, plugged in the charger and then put it on the nightstand. Then she grabbed the remote and climbed back into her bed. She turned on the TV for some background noise and put the volume low. Then she laid back down on the bed. She turned on her side, facing the nightstand, and her eyes fell on her phone. She stared at it for a minute and then thought, I’m going to call her. I’m going to call Hope. She picked up the phone and started scrolling through her contacts for Hope’s name. She grabbed the remote and turned towards the TV and was about to turn it off when she looked at the screen and froze.

The TV was on TMZ. On the screen was Hope. At her side was Christen Press, the U.S. soccer star. Both were dressed to the nines. Kelley’s mouth fell open, and try as she might, she couldn’t help but turn up the volume.

“Sexy rock n’ roll heartthrob Hope Solo and U.S. soccer superstar Christen Press were spotted having dinner together in Waikiki”, the announcer’s voice came. “Afterwards, the beautiful couple hit the town in style.” Cameras snapped shots of the duo, both smiling, Christen holding onto Hope’s arm as they walked.

Kelley turned the TV off, heart aching in her chest. She put her phone back down on the nightstand and then slumped into bed. I definitely didn’t make the right choice, she thought. A tear formed in her eye as she laid her head down on her pillow, stomach churning as she thought about Hope and Christen having a romantic getaway on a beautiful tropical island. She blinked the tear away, and another one came. She blinked that one away, and then the dam burst open and the tears rushed down her face like a waterfall.


	14. Chapter 14

Hope finished up her post-morning ocean swim shower and was getting dressed when her phone rang. It was two days after her date with Christen. She looked at her phone. It was Carli.

“Hey Car.”

“So, how’d your date go?” Carli asked.

“It was enjoyable”, Hope answered. Truth was, it had been more enjoyable than she had expected. Carli was right – Christen was really nice. Hope and Christen had gone to dinner and then out for a drink, and then back to the bar in Christen’s hotel for another drink. Afterwards, Christen had invited Hope up to her room, but Hope had politely declined. The media had been following them around all night, snapping pictures and filming video, and the last thing Hope wanted to do was to give them any more fodder for gossip, so Hope had walked Christen to her hotel room, given her a polite kiss on the cheek, and then left the hotel. It had been too late to catch a flight back to Kauai, so Hope had grabbed a room at a nearby hotel and then had flown back the next day.

“So how much longer are you going to stay on the island for?”

“Not sure yet. I’m kind of playing it by ear.”

“Long enough for another date…?” Cali asked, letting it hang, and Hope could tell she that Carli was smiling.

“Car, please…” Hope moaned. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’m just saying, Solo, this could be a good thing…”

“I’ll keep you posted, mom. Thanks for setting me up”, Hope said. Carli laughed, and then Hope hung up the phone.

   
********  
 

“Okay, guys, you have about an hour until showtime, so don’t wander off”, Kelley said to the guys in Pokerface. “Be in the dressing room in forty-five minutes.” The guys waved to Kelley and headed out of the hospitality room, and Kelley looked around. It was empty right now. The quiet before the storm. Normally she enjoyed the quiet moments, but the last few days she had been looking for anything to occupy her time. Quiet moments gave her time to think. Thinking meant thinking about Hope and Christen, and thinking about them together made her heart ache.

Kelley headed over to the food table and was about to make herself a sandwich, when she heard heels click into the room and a voice behind her.

“Are you guys enjoying the tour?” the voice came. Kelley turned around and found herself staring at Christina Aguilera.

“Christina”, Kelley said. She had only spoken with Christina briefly a few times this tour. Mostly Kelley spoke with Christina’s manager, Paul Tilford. This was the first time she had been in a room alone with Christina. “Yeah, it’s been great. And thanks again for having us.”

“Of course”, Christina said, pouring herself a drink. “You guys are doing great.”

“Thank you”, Kelley said. The tour had been going well, but inside Kelley was a mess. All she had been able to think about was the shot of Hope and Christen on TMZ, both dressed up, smiling, Christen taking Hope’s arm as they strolled down the street in Waikiki. Kelley’s thoughts wandered again to, how did this happen? How did they meet? Are they dating? Did they go to Hawaii together? And then, inevitably, her thoughts wandered back to, I really screwed up. I should have stayed with Hope. And now it’s too late….

“Kelley, listen, I wanted to talk with you about something”, Christina’s voice pulled Kelley out of her thoughts. “Paul needs to jump off the tour in two weeks, after the mountain states portion. He was originally going to stay on for the whole thing, which is going to take us through next year, but some personal stuff came up for him. I’ve been watching you, how you work with Pokerface, how you interact with the crew, the press, the venues. I have to say, for someone so young, you’re very good.”

“Thank you, Christina”, Kelley said. “That really means a lot to me.”

Christina looked at Kelley for a moment and then said, “I’d like you to stay on the tour and fill in for Paul when he leaves. I’d like you to manage me for the rest of this tour. It’s a big tour, my first world tour in three years, but I think you’d be up to the task.”

Kelley just stared at Christina. Was this for real? Christina Aguilera, one of the only female music stars bigger than Hope, was asking her to jump on board. “Wow”, was all she said.

“Now, again, it’s just temporary until the end of the tour, but, well…” Christina let it hang for a moment and then said, “between you and me, I’ve got the feeling that Paul is thinking about retiring. He’s been in the business for 25 years. That’s a long time, and I think he’s burned out. So, I guess the bottom line is, if you jump onboard for the rest of this tour and things work out, we can talk about continuing to work together in the future.”

“Wow”, Kelley said again, thoughts swirling in her head. On the one hand, this was the opportunity of a lifetime, a huge next step in her career, a way to bounce back from the failure of managing Hope. On the other hand, there was Hope. Kelley hadn’t been able to get her off her mind, and as hurt as she was at seeing Hope and Christen together, she just couldn’t let Hope go, and couldn’t shake the feeling that she should never had left Hope’s tour, even if she had stayed on it just to spend time with Hope and let their relationship blossom.

“Listen, Kelley”, Christina said, registering that wheels were turning in Kelley’s head, “no need to tell me right now, but I would like an answer tomorrow, if that’s okay? If it’s not going to be you, then I need to figure out a replacement.”

“You got it, Christina”, Kelley said. “And thank you so much for the opportunity.”

“You bet”, Christina said. “Have a great show tonight”, she said, and then smiled at Kelley, turned around and walked out of the room.

   
********  
 

“I’m glad you’re still here”, Christen said and smiled, as she took another bite of her spicy ahi roll.

“Me too”, Hope said, and smiled back. It was three nights after their first date. Hope had flown in to Honolulu and reserved a car. She wanted to avoid walking around Waikiki again, in case the paparazzi were out. She had picked up Christen at her hotel, and now they were at a sushi bar in downtown Honolulu.

“So, have you figured out what you’re doing next? Another album? Another tour?”

“I’m not sure yet. Right now, I’m just glad to be away from it all for a bit”, Hope said. She hadn’t gone into detail yet with Christen about her retirement from touring and possible retirement from playing music professionally. Christen was nice, but Hope wasn’t sure if Christen would innocently shoot her mouth off if Hope told her she was thinking about scaling back her involvement in the music business, if not leaving it altogether and just playing for fun, so she had kept to surface topics on their first dinner. Now it was their second dinner, but Hope still wasn’t sure, so she turned it back over to Christen. “How about you? What’s next for you? European club? Or national team training? The Olympics is coming up in Brazil, right?”

“Yep”, Christen said. “I’ll be training with the national team in L.A. until March, then playing with the Chicago Red Stars until early June, and then the national team heads down to Brazil.”

“Sounds great”, Hope said with a smile, and as Christen went on about soccer, Hope looked across the table and thought: it’s just not there. Yes - Christen is nice. The first date was nice, and this date is nice too, Hope thought, but that was about it. There was no spark between them. They had soccer in common, since Hope had played in high school and a bit in college, and Christen kind of followed rock music, but other than that, Hope didn’t connect with Christen. Not like she had connected with Kelley.

   
********  
 

After dinner Hope’s car had taken her and Christen back to Waikiki. The media had somehow found them again, and they had bombarded them as Hope and Christen had exited the car at Christen's hotel, Christen grabbing Hope’s hand and pulling her towards the entrance, both of them laughing. Now they were on the boardwalk that lined the beach. Christen was leaning against the railing, Hope right next to her.

“Well, this is nice”, Christen said, looking out onto the moonlit water.

“It is”, Hope said with a nod of her head.

“Thanks again for dinner”, Christen said with a smile.

“You’re welcome, Christen.” Hope smiled back.

Christen looked at Hope for a moment, then stepped a bit closer and said, “So, do you want to come up to my room this time?”

Hope looked back at Christen and then said, “Thank you for the offer, but not tonight.”

Christen stepped back a bit and looked back at Hope. “Okay”, she said. The paused for a moment and then said, “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong”, Hope said.

“I mean, did I do something? Like, this is the second time you’ve said ‘no’ to coming up to my room.”

Hope looked at Christen and then took Christen’s hands. “No, look, Christen. You haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve had a wonderful time hanging out with you. It’s just that…” Hope trailed off, trying to figure out how to phrase what she was thinking.

“Just what?” Christen asked.

“Well, I know I haven’t mentioned this yet, but…it’s just that my mind on someone else right now.”

“Oh”, Christen said.

“I’m sorry if I should have mentioned something earlier. It’s just that I couldn’t feel out when the best time to say something was.”

“I get it”, Christen said, understandingly. “I’ve been there before.”

“I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but the main reason I went out on the first date with you a few nights ago was because my agent suggested it. She knows your agent.”

“I know, Carli Lloyd is her name, right? She knows Jim.”

“Right”, Hope said.

“Agents”, Christen said, and then chuckled. “They’re kind of like ‘parents to the stars’ sometimes. Setting us up on dates.”

Hope laughed in agreement. “Totally. Anyway, Carli knew I was thinking about this other person, and she thought that I could benefit from a nice dinner with a beautiful woman. And don’t get me wrong - I’ve had a very nice time going out to dinner with you, both dinners. And you’re lovely, and beautiful, and nice, but-“

“You just can’t stop thinking about this other person”, Christen said. “I understand. So…do you want to talk about what’s happening?”

Hope smiled at Christen. “No, it’s a long story, but…the bottom line is that I still like her. A lot.”

“I get it”, Christen said. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But, can I say something? If you like her that much, you should go get her.”

“Well, it’s complicated”, Hope said.

“When is it not?” Christen said back. “Anything worthwhile is never easy, right?”

“I suppose so”, Hope said. “You think I should go for it?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, you’re a superstar. You can have anyone you want, and I’m sure you’ve met a lot of people. But you want this girl, so she must be really special.”

Hope paused for a moment and then said, “She is.”

“Well, then, you should go get her”, Christen said again.

“I guess I should. I just don’t know if she feels the same way.”

“Well, you should still go for it. I mean, that’s how you made it in music, right? You went for it?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hope smiled at Christen, and Christen smiled back. “Thanks, Christen.”

“You’re welcome. And just so you know, I’m not disappointed. Well, maybe a little, but I wasn’t expecting anything. I really just wanted to have some fun with a rock star”, she said with a smile.

Hope laughed. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome again”, Christen said. “And I really did enjoy having dinner with you. Twice. So thank you too.”

Hope smiled at Christen and then said, “Can I walk you to your room?”

Christen looked out at the ocean for a moment and then looked back at Hope. “No, I’m going to stay out here for a bit.”

“Okay, well have a good rest of your night”, Hope said and smiled.

“Okay, good night, Hope”, Christen said, and smiled back. Then Hope pulled her in for a hug, gave her a polite kiss on the cheek, and left.

   
********

 

Kelley walked into her hotel room and took off her jacket. It was a bit after midnight. The show earlier in the evening had gone well, but all Kelley could think about was her relationship with Hope versus touring with Christina. She had bounced back and forth between the two all night. She took off her clothes, put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth. Then she sat down on the bed. She picked up her phone and stared at it. I’m going to do it, she thought. She found Hope’s number and then typed out a text:

Kelley: Hey, it’s Kelley. I hope you have been well. I just wanted to say that I miss you, and that I should have stayed on your tour…

She finished typing her message and hit send. Then she laid down in her bed and tried to fall asleep.

   
********  
 

It was too late in the evening to catch a flight back to Kauai, so Hope, as she had done on her first date with Christen, got a room at another hotel in Waikiki. She walked into her room and plopped down on her bed. Then she looked at her phone. The screen was black. She tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. The battery must have gone dead, and she hadn’t brought a charger with her. That’s a bummer, Hope thought. After her talk with Christen, and thinking about what Christen had said, Hope had been thinking about texting Kelley and had actually planned on sending her a text tonight, right before she went to bed. Oh well, she thought. That’ll have to wait until I can get back to my bungalow tomorrow and can charge my phone. One more day won’t hurt, I guess, she thought. Then she pulled back the covers, crawled into bed, and tried to sleep.

   
********  
 

Kelley poured herself her morning cup of coffee. She yawned, took a sip, and then checked her phone. No message from Hope. She sat down at the table in her hotel room, a little dejected. She had hoped to wake up to a text message from Hope, but she tried to shrug it off. Don’t get down, Kelley thought to herself. Maybe Hope’s just busy. Hopefully not busy with Christen, though, Kelley thought. Thinking about that made her sad, but she tried to shrug it off and think of the positive side of her life. A new opportunity law ahead. A great opportunity, one that would take her career to the next level. She smiled at that thought, then cracked open her laptop. She logged on and pulled up Yahoo, which was her homepage. And there it was. The top article was a shot of Hope and Christen. Christen was holding Hope’s hand. Both of them were laughing. The caption read, ‘Could It Be Love?’ and the subheading read, ‘Hope Solo and Christen Press vacation together in Hawaii’. Kelley’s eyes misted over, and her heart lurched. Now it was definitely too late, she thought. She shut her laptop and her eyes, and the tears started pouring down her face. She stayed like that for a few minutes, then collected herself and stood up. She went to the bathroom and dried her face. Then she took a few deep breaths, picked up her phone, and dialed. 

“Paul? It’s Kelley. Can I talk with Christina?”  
 

********  
 

Hope arrived back at her bungalow a bit after noon. She plugged in her phone, took a shower, and then laid down on her couch. She hadn’t slept well at the hotel, and her eyes started to drift closed. She let out a big yawn and then fell into a nap.

The sound of her phone buzzing woke Hope up. Her phone must have recharged. She looked at the screen and her heart froze. It was a message from Kelley. She took a few deep breaths and then opened it up:  
   
Kelley: Hey, it’s Kelley. I hope you have been well. I just wanted to say that I miss you, and that I should have stayed on your tour…  
   
Hope’s heart swelled. It seemed like Kelley had figured out what she wanted, and that was to give it a shot at being together with Hope. Fortuitous timing, Hope thought, since I was going to text her anyway, even if I hadn’t heard from her. This is a good sign, Hope said to herself and smiled. She reread the message several times and then hit the keypad. She started typing out a reply and was midway through, trying to think of the best way to phrase her response, when a call lit up her screen. It was Carli.  
   
“Hey Car.”

“Hey! Did you hear about Kelley?”

“Hear what about Kelley?”

“Kelley is going to be managing Christina Aguilera on her world tour.”

“What?” Hope asked, confused. 

“Yeah! I just heard about it from a friend of mine who knows Paul Tilford, Christina’s manager. Paul was going to manage the tour, but he needs to take some time off for personal stuff. Kelley’s managing the opening band on the tour, Pokerface. Pokerface is done with the tour in like a week, but apparently Christina asked Kelley to stay on and fill in for Paul.”

“Wait, are you serious?” Hope asked. Her mouth went dry and her guy started to clench.

“Yeah, it’s all over the trade sites. Check out MTV.com. There’s a blurb on it on the homepage.” Hope was silent for a moment, so Carli said, “Solo? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here”, Hope said, a dejected tone creeping into her voice.

“Hey – sorry if I’m the bearer of bad news. I just thought you might want to know.”

“Thanks for telling me, Car.”

“Sure”, Carli said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “Hope, what is it?”

Hope sighed and then said, “I just got a text from Kelley today. She said she missed me, and that she should have stayed on the tour with me, and I was actually in the middle of responding when you called, and now I hear this.” Hope was silent for a moment and then said, “I just don’t know what to make of this, or her, anymore.”

“Huh...yeah, I don’t know either”, Carli said, thinking. “But like I said before, she’s young, so maybe she’s still trying to figure it out for herself. Look, I’m sorry”, Carli said. She was silent for a moment and then she changed the subject. “Hey, how did your second date with Christen go? I saw your guys' pic on the Yahoo homepage today.”

“It was fine”, Hope said. “I mean, she’s nice and all, and she’s beautiful, but, well…I’m just not feeling a real connection. Not like I felt with Kelley, anyway.”

“Hey, I hear ya”, Carli said. “Well, maybe it’s still worth pursuing…?” Carli let it hang.

“I don’t know”, Hope said.

“Look – no stress on it. Just…maybe you two can see each other when you’re both back from vacation. I know she’s on the national team, and I think they train in L.A.”

“Yeah, they do. I’ll think about it”, Hope said and sighed.

“Alright, well, hang in there, Solo. Call if you want to talk.”

“Thanks Car”, Hope said and then hung up the phone. She sat there for a moment, thinking. Kelley…saying she misses me and shouldn’t have left me, and now she’s leaving on a worldwide tour. I just don’t understand, Hope thought. A tear formed in her eye, and she blinked it away. Then another one formed, and another one formed, and then the rain started falling. She let herself cry for a few minutes, then walked to the bathroom, grabbed a towel and dried her face. Then she picked up her phone, her fingers hovering over the keypad.


	15. Chapter 15

Kelley hopped off the bus in front of the Firm’s main office building. It was the week before Christmas. They were back in L.A. for a day and a night, dropping off Pokerface, who had concluded their stint on the tour. Everyone had a day to rest, and then the tour would be pulling out again tomorrow morning, heading east, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and the gulf states, over to Florida, then traversing back through the mid-south, back over through the plains states and the Midwest, then up the east coast and New England. From there they would fly over to Europe, then through Asia, then down to Australia, then over to Africa, then to South America, and then back to North America to finish up in Canada. A full year they would be on tour, taking them all the way up to next Christmas. Kelley exhaled a deep breath as she thought about that. Then she took out her phone. She looked at the message from Hope that she had received yesterday.  
   
Hope: Please don’t go, Kel  
   
Kelley read it again, for what seemed like the hundredth time since she had gotten it. Somehow Hope had heard that Kelley was leaving on Christina’s tour and was asking her not to go. A thought entered Kelley’s mind: why would Hope ask me to stay if she’s with Christen? And then that thought was followed by another thought: why should I stay, if she’s with Christen? That thought produced a flash of anger in Kelley, as if Hope had no right to ask Kelley to stay since she had moved on and was with someone else. Then Kelley thought about the fact that she was the one who had chosen to leave Hope’s tour when Hope had asked her to stay, and the anger was replaced with sadness. She was the one who had made the wrong choice. Then she thought about the wrong choices she had made, letting Hope perform when Hope was ill only to see Hope fall and end up in the hospital, leaving Hope’s tour when Hope had asked her to stay and now Hope was with someone else, and then another thought entered Kelley’s mind: maybe we’re just not meant to be together. She exhaled sadly at that thought and looked around as her mind started to wander. She looked at the tour bus she had just gotten off of. She looked at the semi-truck behind the bus, then looked at all of the crew, exiting the bus, heading home or into town to take advantage of the day off. Some of them were being greeted by loved ones, and as Kelley looked at that, she thought about what Erin had said, about Kelley giving herself and Hope a shot, a real shot. She looked at the letters on the screen one more time, and then thought: I wonder who Hope talks with about this kind of stuff. I have Erin, but who would Hope talk with? Who is her Erin? Then she looked at the message one more time and her fingers hit the keypad.  
   
   
********

   
“I’m glad you called”, Christen said and smiled as Hope handed her a drink.  
   
“Thanks for coming up here”, Hope said and smiled back. She sat down on the couch and took a sip of her drink. After getting the news from Carli about Kelley, Hope had texted Kelley, asking her not to go. Then she had packed her bags and had flown back from Hawaii. She had arrived in L.A. earlier in the week and had taken a few days to tidy up some business affairs and tend to her house. Then she had thrown a week’s work of clothes into a duffel bag, climbed into her Range Rover and headed up to her cabin in Big Bear. That had been two days ago. Yesterday, sitting in her favorite chair, sipping coffee and watching the snow fall outside, she had come to a conclusion: maybe a relationship with Kelley just wasn’t meant to be. True, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Kelley and the news that Carli had delivered, that Kelley would be managing Christina Aguilera on her worldwide tour, but she also hadn’t received a reply back from Kelley. It had been about a week since Hope had texted Kelley, and in thinking about everything, Hope had made a decision: she couldn't keep holding out for Kelley. She needed to move on. She had cried a bit yesterday as she sat, wrapped in her favorite blanket, thinking about what she was pretty sure was her former relationship with Kelley. Then she had picked up the phone and called Christen. Today Christen had driven up a few hours ago. Now the sun was just beginning to set. Snow was falling outside, and a fire crackled in the hearth.    
   
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to hear from you, after our last date in Hawaii”, Christen said.  
   
Hope smiled. After she had left Christen on the beach boardwalk in Waikiki she hadn’t planned on seeing her again, but after the news about Kelley and a week’s worth of thought, she decided to give herself and Christen another shot. She didn’t know what was going to happen between them, but if nothing more it would be nice to have some company over the holidays. She and Christen could spend time with each other for a couple weeks, until the new year, and then Christen would start national training camp, and Hope could start figuring out what she was going to do next with her life. Who knows? Maybe they would continue to see each other after the new year, Hope thought. She hadn’t gotten that far yet, but again, it would just be nice to have company for the holidays.  
   
“Yeah”, Hope said and smiled. Then she put down her drink, took Christen’s drink and set it on the coffee table, turned towards Christen and took Christen’s hands in hers. “Listen, Christen – I just want to be straightforward with you. I don’t really know where things are going to go with us, or even where I’m at emotionally, but I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you, so I thought I we could just spend some time toge-“  
   
“Hey”, Christen said, cutting Hope off. “Don’t worry. There’s no need for you to explain. I understand. I know you still have feelings for someone else, and I'm okay with that, at least for right now. Let’s just…enjoy being with each other for right now, okay?”  
   
Hope looked at Christen for a moment, then smiled and said, “Okay.” Christen smiled back, and she and Hope stared at each other for a moment, and then Hope asked, “Are you hungry? I don’t have much food in the cabin here, but there are a few places in town that deliver. Do you like Thai food.”  
   
“Sounds great”, Christen said, and Hope picked up the phone.  
   
   
********  
   
   
Thirty minutes later Hope and Christen were still on the couch, now sitting close, staring at the fire, a down blanket covering both of them. Hope had just turned off all of the lights and lit some candles when she heard a car pull up. That was quick, Hope thought. It usually takes longer for delivery to get here. “Food’s here”, she said with a smile and started to get up when Christen grabbed her hand and pulled her back down onto the couch.

“I got it”, Christen said. “My treat, for you inviting me up here.” She smiled at Hope, then grabbed her wallet and opened the door. “Where’s the food?” Christen asked the driver.

Hope looked over towards the door. From the couch she couldn’t see the driver, but she had heard Christen ask where the food was. “What’s going on?" Hope called out.

“The delivery driver is here, but she didn’t bring the food, and she’s…kinda just, like, staring at me”, Christen said.

“Alright, hang on”, Hope said. She got up off the couch, headed towards the door, and started to ask, “What’s the deal“, when she looked up and froze.

Standing in the doorway was Kelley.


	16. Chapter 16

“Kelley!” Hope yelled as Kelley ran from the doorway.

“Is that-“ Christen asked, a look of shock on her face.

Hope stared for a moment, trying to comprehend what was happening. Then she said, “I’m sorry, Christen”, and took off after Kelley. Kelley was running down the street. Hope caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Kelley, please!” Kelley whirled around, tears running down her face.

“Why!?” Kelley yelled. Hope just stood there, staring at her. “Why did you tell me to stay?”

“Because I want to be with you!” Hope yelled back.

“But you’re with Christen.”

“We’re not together.”

“It sure looks like you’re together. She’s here, with you, in your cabin.” 

“She’s only here because I thought you left, on your world tour with Christina. I thought it was over between us.”

“But I’m here now. I gave up that tour to be with you.”

Hope stared at Kelley for a moment and then said, “Why didn’t you text me back? Or call me? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here? And how did you find me anyway?”

“I texted Carli, and then I spoke with her. She told me where you were, and she told me that you and Christen weren’t together, so I came up here.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I realized I made a mistake, leaving you. I should have stayed with you, on your tour. And I wanted to call you, but then I saw you and Christen on TV together. Then Christina offered me the job on her tour, and then I texted you to see what you would say before I took the job, but then didn't hear from you, then I saw you and Christen on Yahoo, so I took the job", Kelley said, rambling. She sniffled and then said, “And then you texted me back and told me you wanted me to stay, so I bailed on Christina's tour, and here I am. And then she opens the door, and I see you and her, lights out, candles, fireplace…And it's all for nothing...", Kelley drifted off, dejected.

“Kelley, please, listen. I want to be with _you._ Christen and I are _not_ together”, Hope said, again.

“Well it sure looks like it”, Kelley mumbled through sniffles.

“We were never together, Kelley”, Hope said. “We just so happened to be in Hawaii at the same time, and Carli knew that I was broken up over you.” Hope saw Kelley’s face register that, so she said, “Yes, Kelley. Over _you_. So Carli thought it would be a good idea for me to go out on a date with Christen, to take my mind off of you. The media saw us and blew it out of proportion. You know how the media works, Kelley”, Hope said. She stared at Kelley for a moment, then reached out and took Kelley’s hands. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since you left my tour, Kelley.”

“I wish you would have called me and told me”, Kelley said.

“I wanted to give you some time to think. I didn’t want you to feel like I was pressuring you.” Hope squeezed Kelley’s hands and then said, “I was pretty clear on what I wanted. I wanted you to stay.” Then she smiled slightly and said, “It was _you_ who left _my_ tour, remember?”

At that Kelley smiled back slightly. “And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since”, Kelley said. This time it was she who saw the registration in Hope’s eyes, and she said, “Yes, Hope. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And I’m sorry I left. I made a mistake. I should have stayed.”

Hope stared at Kelley for a moment longer, and then she took Kelley’s cheeks in her hands. She wiped at Kelley’s tears with her thumbs and then wrapped her arms around Kelley’s waist. “Kelley…”, she breathed out. “Please, stay…” she let it hang.

Kelley stared into Hope’s eyes, then wrapper her arms around Hope’s neck. “Okay”, she said. She and Hope stared at each other for another moment and then Hope bent down and captured Kelley’s lips with her own. They stood locked like that for a moment, in the sweetest kiss of both of their lives, and then Hope broke the kiss. She looked at Kelley for a moment and then laughed lightly.

“What’s so funny?” Kelley asked with a shy smile.

“I just realized that I ran out after you without putting any shoes on", Hope said, as she looked down at her feet, which she had suddenly realized were going numb, standing on the snow-covered street. "Can we go inside? My feet are freezing.”

Kelley looked down at Hope’s feet, naked in the snow. She looked up at Hope and smiled slightly, and then nodded her head. Hope pulled her arms from Kelley’s waist, then took Kelley’s hand and led her back to the cabin.

   
********  
 

“How are your feet?” Kelley asked. She and Hope were snuggled on the couch underneath a furry blanket. Hope had her arms wrapped around Kelley, who was nestled into Hope’s chest, Kelley head resting in the crook of Hope’s neck. When they had arrived back at the cabin Christen was gone. Hope had sent her a quick text apologizing and promising to chat in the near future. Then she had thrown another log onto the fire and relit some candles. She had asked Kelley if Kelley was hungry, since food was still on its way, but Kelley had declined, and after everything that had just happened, Hope figured it would be best to cancel the order that she had placed for her and another woman, so she called the restaurant and cancelled the order, playing for it twice over as a courtesy.

“They’re unthawing, I think. I still can’t feel my pinky toes, though”, Hope said, and Kelley giggled lightly.

They sat in silence for a moment and then Kelley said, “It killed me to see you two together. You and Christen.”

Hope put a finger under Kelley’s chin and tilted it up, then planted a kiss on her lips. “Just so you know, nothing ever happened between us. We just went out to dinner twice, and then she came up here today, just a couple of hours before you arrived.” She gave Kelley a reassuring smile.

Kelley smiled back and then settled back into position, head buried in Hope’s neck. She exhaled deeply as a wave of relief washed over her. Then she looked up a Hope again. “You were really broken up over me?” Kelley asked, and then cracked a small smile. “Rock superstar Hope Solo, broken up over little ol’ me?”

“Hey”, Hope said. “I’m just a regular girl…looking for love.” she smiled. "Plus, I may not be a rock star for long.”

Kelley turned in Hope’s arms to face Hope. “What do you mean?” she asked, and Hope proceeded to tell her about the diagnosis that she had been given after her blackout in Philadelphia.

“Wow”, Kelley said. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure”, Hope answered. “Maybe take a break from performing and focus on songwriting and recording. Or maybe just work on songwriting for other artists. Or, maybe just play for fun”, Hope said. She gave Kelley a little squeeze and asked, “What about you?”

“I’m not sure, either”, Kelley said. “I mean, I’m not doing the Christina tour, and if you and I are going to give it a shot together, then I probably won’t be touring much at all, which means I’ll be leaving The Firm.”

Hope stroked Kelley’s hair and then tilted her head down to look Kelley in the eye. “You would do that for us?”

Kelley looked down and then looked back up. “I’m here, aren’t I?” She paused for a moment and then said, “I guess I realized that being with you is more important than having the career I originally envisioned.”

Hope smiled, then planted a light kiss on Kelley’s lips. “Well, it means the world to me that you would alter your career to give our relationship a shot, so I will support you financially if you need it.”

Kelley smiled back. “Thank you”, she said, and then nestled back down into Hope. “I don’t want to think about any of that right now, though”, she said, burrowing her face into Hope’s neck.

“Me neither”, Hope said.

“I mean, I do want a career. But I want you too. So if I have to alter my career to make our relationship work, then so be it”, Kelley said. She kissed Hope’s neck and then tilted her head to look Hope in the eyes. “Just don’t leave me, okay?”

Hope stared at Kelley for a moment and then smiled softly. “Do you really think that is going to happen, Kelley? I mean, I've never been so broken up over anything than when you left my tour.”

“And I’ve never been so broken up over anything than when I saw you and Christen together."

“So, you won’t leave me either?” Hope asked with a smile.

“Nope. I’m not going anywhere”, Kelley said. “I gave up a world tour to be with you.”

“And I’m kind of retired, so I’m not going anywhere either”, Hope said.

“Except for when a hot superstar soccer player calls you for a date?” Kelley said and then smirked.

“Shut it, junior”, Hope said, squinting her eyes at Kelley.

Kelley continued to smirk for a moment and then burrowed into Hope. “Old lady", she said into Hope’s neck. They were silent for a moment, and then Kelley said, “Anyway, I do still want to work. Unlike you, I’m too young to be retired.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out”, Hope said. Then she put one finger beneath Kelley’s chin and tilted Kelley’s head up once again. “And we’ll figure it out _together_ , okay?”

Kelley looked into Hope’s eyes for a moment and then smiled. “Okay”, she said, then planted a kiss onto Hope’s lips. They stayed like that for a minute, and then the kiss grew deeper. Hope took Kelley’s bottom lip between her own, and Kelley moaned. She continued to nibble on Kelley’s lip for a moment and then she pulled back.

“So, what are doing doing for Christmas? Going home to see your family in Fayetteville?” Hope asked.

Kelley looked into Hope’s eyes and said, “I thought I’d stay right here.” She paused for a moment and then turned in Hope’s arms so she was straddling Hope under the blanket. “I want a white Christmas. With you.”

Hope stared back at Kelley and then smiled. “I’d like nothing better”, she said, and then pulled Kelley down into a long kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's pretty much what I have for this story. I plan on writing an epilogue that gives a glimpse into Hope and Kelley's future together. Another thought I had was to try to continue the story, but I'm just not sure if I have enough ideas or steam for that (at least right now). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, and I thank you again for reading.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the epilogue for this story. It gives a glimpse into Kelley and Hope's life nine years into the future.  
> Thank you again for reading.

“Hey baby, how was your day?” Hope asked as Kelley walked into the kitchen. She looked up from the stove and smiled at her wife, who was dressed up as usual in her sharp business suit and heels. After their reunion at Hope’s cabin, Kelley had decided that she wanted to start her own artist management company. Hope had offered to cosign for the small business loan that Kelley had needed. Kelley had originally resisted, saying she wanted to do it all on her own, but she couldn’t get the loan without a cosigner, so Hope had insisted. Within the first year Kelley had made enough money to pay back the loan. Now, almost nine years later, KOH Management had a stylish ten-room office building, employed six full-time artist managers, and boasted a stable roster of mid-level and even some lesser A-list acts. Carli worked out of the office as well, lending her PR talents to the company. For Kelley and Hope, Kelley owning her own company was the ideal situation. Kelley could make her own money and not live off of Hope. She could oversee the business and work in artist management, helping artists grow their careers, which she still loved, but she didn’t have to be on tour and away from her family for months at a time. Truth be told, Kelley still loved the energy of being on tour, and once in a while she would go out on the road for a week or two, but she wasn’t obligated to be out for long stretches of time anymore. And, when she was not on tour, her hours were nice enough that she was home in time for dinner most evenings.

“Good. Busy, but good”, Kelley said. She set her purse down on the kitchen counter and then gave her wife a kiss. “How was your day?” she asked with a smile.

“Good”, Hope said. “I spent most of the day out back.” After their engagement eight years ago, where Hope had proposed to Kelley at a local park after a game of one-on-one soccer, the couple had bought a house together, not too far from Hope’s old house. Kelley had offered to just move into Hope’s old house, but Hope had said that she wanted to look for and get a place together, so Kelley would feel that wherever they lived was as much hers as it was Hope's. They had spent almost four months looking at houses until they had found this one. It was a modern-style mid-century bungalow, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, family room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, two-car garage, back patio, back yard and a swimming pool. There was a separate den area that Kelley sometimes used as a home office. The house was nice and spacious but not extravagant, and modest compared to a lot of the houses in the area, and definitely modest given what Hope and Kelley could have afforded. It was also close to the KOH office and a majority of the recording studios where Hope sometimes worked. Today, though, Hope had been working from home. In the back yard there had been a large shed when they had bought the house that Hope had converted into a small home studio. After the tour that Kelley had been on, Hope had slowed down her work pace, particularly the touring. Since then, she had been working only part-time on a per-project basis, and most of her work was studio work. Her current project was working on mixing songs for Ashlyn and Ali’s band. Hope had mixed the latest album for Megan and Syd’s band six months ago, and then Kelley had booked them a tour and sent them out with one of her managers.

“I’m making chicken pesto pasta for dinner. Here, taste”, Hope said, as she grabbed Kelley’s hand and pulled her over to the stove.

“Mmmmm… tastes awesome, babe”, Kelley said, as Hope gave her a taste off of the large cooking spoon. She gave Hope an appreciative kiss and then took her hair down from the bun that it had been in all day. The small TV in the kitchen was on for background noise, dialed in to ESPN. Hope moved over to the sink to start straining the pasta, and Kelley went to help stir the sauce, when the TV announcer’s voice caught their attention.

“And in Hawaii today, the Maui Pro surfing tournament kicked off in six-to-eight foot swells. Courtney Conlogue from southern California took the early lead with a 9.79 ride ending in a 360 backside aerial to put her out in front. Conlogue's wife, veteran soccer star and captain of the U.S. National Team, Christen Press was in the crowd to cheer her on”, the announcer said, as the camera cut from Courtney’s aerial to Christen cheering on the beach.

Kelley looked up at the TV at the name of Christen’s name. Then she looked at Hope and mock frowned.

“Kelley…” Hope said.

Kelley held her frown for a moment longer and then laughed. “I’m totally messing with you. C'mon, baby - it’s been nine years. You know I don't care.” She stirred the sauce for another moment and then said, “You never told me, though – did you ever talk with her?” Kelley asked, meaning Christen.

“I did”, Hope said. “I called her a couple weeks after you came to the cabin. She was really cool about everything, although she had been kinda confused by the fact that you had showed up to the cabin out of nowhere. Anyway, I don’t know if had I ever told you this, but I had told her about you.” Kelley looked up and over at Hope, so Hope clarified. “Not your name per se, but at my second dinner with Christen I had told her that my mind was on someone else. Which was you”, Hope said and smiled.

Kelley stared at Hope for a moment and then smiled back. “Well, it worked out for everybody. I mean, she married some star surfer, and I married a rock star.”

Hope continued to smile at Kelley, then put the strainer down in the sink and walked over to her wife. She wrapped her arms around Kelley from behind as Kelley continued to stir the pasta sauce and burrowed her face into the hair on the back of Kelley’s head. She inhaled the scent of Kelley’s shampoo and then peppered the back of Kelley’s neck and head with kisses. “Well”, she said, whispering into Kelley’s ear, “it worked out the best for _me_.”

Kelley smiled and stopped stirring the sauce, then turned around in Hope’s arms so she was facing Hope. She tilted her chin up and planted a kiss on Hope’s lips. “Seven years”, she said, referring to how long they had been married.

“Seven years, four months and twenty-two days", Hope said back.

Kelley laughed lightly and shook her head in amazement. “How do you always remember exactly how long we’ve been married?”

“Because it was the happiest, most amazing day of my life”, Hope said. She and Kelley had gotten married in Hawaii, on the beach behind Hope's bungalow. Hope looked into Kelley’s eyes and planted a kiss on her lips. She held it there for a moment, nibbling on Kelley's lower lip, and then Kelley sighed and returned the kiss.

“Mine too”, Kelley said. She looked into Hope's eyes. “Hi”, she breathed out.

“Hi”, Hope breathed back. She planted another kiss on her wife’s lips. “You looked…mmmmm…in your hot little suit”, she said, fingering the collar of Kelley’s shirt.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, in that sexy tank top and tight designer jeans”, Kelley replied. She slid her hands down Hope’s strong arms and then tugged at the belt loops on Hope’s jeans.

“Mama! Come hear this new song we wrote!” a girl’s voice screamed from around the corner, followed by little footsteps.

Hope closed her eyes and smiled at the interruption. Kelley giggled lightly at the bad timing, and the two of them exited the kitchen and followed the little footsteps down the hall and into the family room, which Hope had soundproofed and turned into a musical practice room for their kids. Jaden, their six-and-a-half-year-old son, was sitting behind a small drum kit. Emily, almost five, was on the keyboard.

“Hi mommy”, Jaden said, addressing Kelley. “Welcome home.”

“Thank you, JJ”, Kelley said to her son. “Do you and Emi have a new song for mama and me?”

“Yep”, Jaden said.

“I helped write it too!” Emily said and beamed.

“I bet you did, Emi”, Hope said sweetly, and Emily smiled and nodded her head proudly.

Jaden looked at Hope and Kelley and then said, “Okay, mama, mommy - ready?” Hope and Kelley smiled and nodded their heads, then Hope moved behind Kelley and wrapped her arms around her wife. Jaden counted to four, and then he and Emily launched into their song. For a six-and-a-half-year-old and an almost-five-year old, it was pretty darn good. They wouldn’t be signing to a major label and touring anytime soon, Hope mused, but there was potential. Most importantly, though, they enjoyed playing music.

“It’s so cute the way they work together”, Kelley said, watching their kids play, Jaden nodding with his head and shouting to Emily for the change cues. Jaden, tall and lean with brown hair, was the splitting image of Hope. He had a serious demeanor, piercing blue eyes, and a prominent jaw line. Kelley had carried Emily, who had reddish-brown hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. She was the fiery but silly one of the siblings, prone to the occasional emotional outburst but also to the much more frequent bout of random silliness.

“Mmmhmm”, Hope agreed, with a smile and a light condescending tone in her voice. “You see? Two people can work together, even if they have something other than a professional relationship", she said, nuzzling into Kelley’s neck.

“Shush”, Kelley chided lightly at the jab. She and Hope watched their kids play for another moment, and then Kelley asked, “Hey, did you decide if you’re playing KROQ’s Summer Bash concert this year?” KROQ was the largest rock music station in L.A. The promoter had reached out to Hope about a month ago. The concert was still five months away, but he wanted an answer soon.

Hope looked at Kelley. “I don’t know. I mean, we’ve been talking about going to Hawaii this summer, right?”

“Yeah, we have been”, Kelley said. “Unless some hot star soccer player is going to be there”, Kelley teased.

“Shut it, junior”, Hope said with a smile. “Anyway, I know the kids really want to go this summer.”

“I’m just teasing, and yes, the kids do want to go”, Kelley said. She tilted her head back and kissed Hope’s neck. “But seriously - you don’t play much these days, so I thought that maybe you’d want to play this one. We can go to Hawaii some other time.”

Hope looked at Kelley and then smiled. It was true – Hope didn’t perform much these days. In fact, she hadn’t performed much in the last five years. She had stopped touring heavily nine years ago. She had undertaken a two-month tour eight years ago, and then a one-month tour seven years ago. She had played just a handful of dates six years ago, and ever since then, she performed maybe once or twice a year, getting the original band - her, Megan, Ashlyn, Ali and Syd – together. The last time she had played was seven months ago at last year’s Summer Bash. It had been a wonderful time, and Hope always enjoyed the performances that she did do, but she didn’t miss the touring lifestyle. It was just too hard on her body for her to keep it up. These days she was fine just performing once or twice a year and then satisfying the rest of her musical yearnings working part-time in studios. “It’s fine, baby. Seriously. I can offer to play this year's Holiday Bash instead. I’d rather spend the time with you guys”, she said, smiling at Kelley, nodding towards Jaden and Emily, and then giving Kelley a squeeze.

“Are you sure?” Kelley asked, turning around in Hope’s arms. “I mean, the Summer Bash is a big show, and I know you loved playing it last year.”

“It is, and I did”, Hope agreed. She paused for a moment, and then smiled and kissed her wife. “But it’s only rock n’ roll.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's it for this story. If you've read any of my other stories (which you may not have, since this is my first O'Solo story), then you know that I often include some thoughts at the end of each story. I really don't have many for this one. I kind of wrote it just because I have experience in the music business, and I wanted to parlay those experiences into a fictional narrative (and I also like thinking about Hope as a rock star, Kelley as a manager, and their evolving relationship). If I had to mention one thing, though (besides the fact that the music business is one of the craziest businesses I have ever worked in), it's that the media can often misrepresent what is actually happening in real life. Poor Kelley thought that Hope and Christen were together just because she saw a couple shots of them together on TMZ, when in fact Hope had been holding out for Kelley. If Kelley had just called Hope instead of just going off of what she had seen in the media, then she and Hope probably would have gotten back together sooner. Of course, once could argue that then the story wouldn't have been as good (as I've said before, drama makes for great story), but I think the point is that we should always perform a bit of due diligence and make sure we are getting the real story before we jump to any conclusions just based on what we first see in the media, in any medium.  
> Anyway, thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the story.  
> Mahalo and fond Aloha


End file.
